How long does this take, and what’s the fastest version?

The fastest version of this process is the strategy sketch. That's why we started with it. You can knock the sketch out in a focused work block of 2-4 hours and have a working strategy. It won't be very rigorous, but if you've been in your role awhile, it's likely to be at least directionally correct and surface the right next questions to answer. If you haven't done a sketch yet, finish reading this FAQ and then go do it.

The real question: is the sketch enough, or do I need to go deeper?

How deep to go is partly shaped by the norms of your organization, but is really determined by how high the stakes are. If you're just doing initial explorations of a new product idea, the sketch is probably enough to help you get going, say no to ideas, and focus the team's energy. If it's helping you do that, it's working.

You definitely need to go deeper when:

1. The stakes are high: major resource commitments, a big pivot, or board-level visibility.
2. A specific strategy component feels weak: go deeper wherever your confidence is low.
3. You're stuck: if the sketch isn't helping you make decisions, something foundational is off and needs strengthening.

When you're short on time, go deeper selectively, not uniformly. You don't have to do all the chapters in order. They're designed for targeted use:

• Context feels stale? Do Chapter 3 properly.
• Challenge feels vague? Spend time on Chapter 4.
• Value Thesis feels generic? Dig into Chapter 5.
• Not sure how you'll actually pull this off and win? Develop your Approach in Chapter 6.
• Can't decide what bets are in/out? Work through Chapter 7.

Start with the sketch and run with it: the cycle handles the rest. Each iteration, go deeper wherever it serves. The goal is to always have a working strategy, not a perfect one.