Where PMs Create Real Leverage: Vision, Strategy, Scope, and Backlog
As product managers, our job isn’t to ship tickets. It’s to create leverage.
But what does leverage really mean? And where should we focus our time to create the most of it?
There are two core concepts I share with my team:
Managerial Output: This is what you produce as a manager. It’s not just your own contributions—it’s the output of your team plus the output of the surrounding teams you influence. Great PMs expand their radius.
Managerial Leverage: Some activities create more output than others. The best PMs recognize that their time is limited and focus on the things that produce the most leverage per unit of effort. That’s the real job.
So where does a PM create the most leverage?
The Leverage Pyramid: Vision, Strategy, Scope, Backlog
Here’s a simple framework I use:
Vision → Strategy → Scope → Backlog
Think of this as a pyramid, where the foundation lies in Vision and Strategy—and the optimization happens through Scope and Backlog.
At the top of the pyramid is the backlog—individual tasks and user stories. Important? Sure. But high leverage? Rarely.
At the base is vision—the compass that orients the entire team. This is where a product manager has the highest potential to shape outcomes.
Let’s break this down.
Vision: The Heart of the Team
A good vision describes where you’re going and why it matters. It’s not a feature set or a KPI target. It’s the end state of your team’s efforts, expressed clearly and ambitiously.
But here’s the catch: Your team’s vision has to fit within the company’s vision.
I’ve seen too many PMs go off-script, charging in like the “CEO of the product” trying to “do epic shit.” And while I admire the energy, it has to align with the bigger company narrative—or you’ll end up building something impressive but irrelevant.
PMs should spend real time talking with leadership to internalize the company’s vision—and recalibrate as the company evolves. At Shopify, we called this “staying on the green path.” It means you’re pushing boundaries, yes—but always within bounds.
And when you get it right? The vision becomes a filter for every micro-decision your team makes. It becomes the source of team pride. It becomes your leverage.
Strategy: Your Gameplan for Action
If vision is the “why,” strategy is the “how.” It’s the plan you craft to navigate constraints, market dynamics, customer needs, and technical realities—and move toward the vision.
And no, strategy is not a roadmap.
A roadmap is an output of strategy. A real strategy should answer:
What are we building, and why?
Who are we targeting, and why?
How will we grow, and why will that work?
How does this improve our position in the market?
The more your strategy can answer those questions (especially the “why”), the more your team will act with clarity and autonomy.
Scope and Backlog: Optimization Work
Scope and backlog are necessary—but they’re not where you create foundational leverage.
Scope defines what you need to build to realize your strategy.
Backlog breaks that down into the units of work your team will tackle.
They help you go faster toward a known destination—but they’re only effective when you’ve already figured out where you’re going and why.
That’s why I encourage PMs to spend more time downstream than upstream. If your strategy is fuzzy or your vision isn’t aligned, no amount of backlog grooming will get your team where it needs to go.
A Simple Litmus Test
If you want to test whether your team has clarity, ask this:
Can an engineer or designer on your team explain:
The vision you’re working toward?
The strategy that’s guiding how you get there?
If not, don’t start another sprint. Go back to the foundation. That’s where your leverage lives.
Closing Thoughts
I built this framework early in my career because I wanted to create a team where:
Everyone knew how their work contributed to the company’s vision.
Everyone could explain why we were approaching the problem in a specific way.
That’s the real unlock. That’s how you turn product managers into product leaders. And that’s how you stop managing backlogs—and start shaping futures.