I had the roadmap. They had no idea what we were building. I’ve led complex, high-stakes product work across multiple teams, companies, and industries. I know how to run cross-functional initiatives. I know what alignment looks like. I know what misalignment feels like. And yet. There I was. In another meeting. Watching people squint at the initiative I had spent weeks defining, defending, and documenting. “Wait, is this the thing we did for that OEM last year?” “Are we building this from scratch again?” “I thought this was just an experiment?” “Wait, is this the thing we did for that OEM last year?” “Are we building this from scratch again?” “I thought this was just an experiment?” That sound you hear right now, is me internally flipping a table. It is me rolling my eyes. It is me blowing a gasket. I was frustrated. Still am, if I’m being honest. And that’s valid. Because strategy without translation is wasted effort. When I finally stopped being pissed, I started being a product leader I took a breath. Put on the product hat. Stepped back to diagnose. It wasn’t the documentation. It wasn’t the roadmap. It was the lack of accountability around the story. accountability The message stopped with me. And no one else felt responsible for carrying it forward. What made me see this? Past experience. I’ve worked at places where this didn’t happen. Where directors and EMs took the strategic “why” and made it real for their teams. Where translation was automatic. This wasn’t that. And I realized something else: I was waiting for people to align. But I never built a process to help them do it. What I should have done: kickoff the story, not the work Not a roadmap review. Not a timeline sync. An actual kickoff where people hear the “why” and practice saying it back in their own words. I call it a strategic narrative kickoff. strategic narrative kickoff And no, this isn’t just a PM-EM-designer huddle. If you’re doing anything remotely significant, this room needs to include: And if your initiative is big, that 90-minute template I’ll show you below? Stretch it. The goal isn’t time-bound. It’s comprehension-bound. The strategic narrative kickoff format This is what I run when I want teams to align beyond the doc. Who: Everyone responsible for building or translating the work When: After planning, before execution How long: 60–90 minutes What you need: No slides. Real use cases. A whiteboard. Silence when it matters. Who: Everyone responsible for building or translating the work Who: Everyone responsible for building or translating the work Who: When: After planning, before execution When: After planning, before execution When: How long: 60–90 minutes How long: 60–90 minutes How long: What you need: No slides. Real use cases. A whiteboard. Silence when it matters. What you need: No slides. Real use cases. A whiteboard. Silence when it matters. What you need: The agenda 1. Set the tone (5 min) 1. Set the tone (5 min) Say this, out loud: “You are not here to repeat the deck. You are here to translate the story. Your team should hear the ‘why’ from you in a language they understand.” “You are not here to repeat the deck. You are here to translate the story. Your team should hear the ‘why’ from you in a language they understand.” “You are not here to repeat the deck. You are here to translate the story. Your team should hear the ‘why’ from you in a language they understand.” 2. Walk through the story (15 min) 2. Walk through the story (15 min) Cover these five points. Out loud. Slowly. With real examples. Who are we helping What is broken Why now What we are betting on What success looks like Who are we helping What is broken Why now What we are betting on What success looks like This part is not for performance. It’s for priming people to care. 3. Pause the room. Make them write. (10 min) 3. Pause the room. Make them write. (10 min) You say: “Everyone write a version of this in your own words. No slides. No buzzwords. One paragraph. What are we building? Why does it matter now?” “Everyone write a version of this in your own words. No slides. No buzzwords. One paragraph. What are we building? Why does it matter now?” “Everyone write a version of this in your own words. No slides. No buzzwords. One paragraph. What are we building? Why does it matter now?” Then, while they write: “This is not a writing test. This is how we pressure-test strategy. If we cannot say it out loud, we cannot scale it. If it sounds awkward, that’s the work.” “This is not a writing test. This is how we pressure-test strategy. If we cannot say it out loud, we cannot scale it. If it sounds awkward, that’s the work.” “This is not a writing test. This is how we pressure-test strategy. If we cannot say it out loud, we cannot scale it. If it sounds awkward, that’s the work.” Set a timer. Let it get quiet. 4. Translate, test, and break it down (30–45 min) 4. Translate, test, and break it down (30–45 min) Each person reads their version out loud. Then the room does three things: This is not a vibe check. It’s a stress test. Gaps are the goal. It’s a stress test. Gaps are the goal. 5. Commit to the message (10 min) 5. Commit to the message (10 min) Each lead finalizes their version. They commit to repeating it in their next sprint kickoff or sync. The story leaves the room and enters the team. How It Compares to Standard Kickoffs I know you might have questions related to why even do this! So, I have put it in the table below where you can clearly understand why I am pushing for this! Now, your standard kickoff might look different but I have focused on the most common type that I can find and tbh, the kind of ones I have led as well. 🫠 If you’re a PM leader, this cannot be a one-time trick If you’re a PM leader, this cannot be a one-time trick Run this as a ritual. Normalize it. Ask for story retellings in retros. Assign it as onboarding for new initiatives. Most PMs are not trained to translate strategy. You are. You are And if your culture is top-down, your junior PMs cannot lead this alone. Build them a path. Give them cover. Let them try. But know that alignment is not a solo sport. alignment is not a solo sport Alignment scales when your people carry the story It doesn’t matter if your team is 3 or 300. If they cannot explain what they’re building and why — it won’t matter how good your plan is. Alignment does not come from repetition. It comes from translation. And translation starts with ownership. You don’t scale alignment by writing more docs You scale it by building people who carry the story when you’re not in the room. And it starts at the kickoff. And it starts at the kickoff.
