The plethora of services teaching models and frameworks for PM interviews has left many feeling that all they need to do is memorize a framework or two and they can answer any strategy question. Reality is different. 

There are lots of ways to practice for strategy questions. BUT the frameworks are so diverse, and often asked with little time to answer, that most frameworks fail people. You don’t typically have 30 minutes to answer strategy questions. Rather, you need to answer those questions in 5 to 15 minutes.

I am sharing 10 frameworks with you but please, please, please use common sense.  Don’t try to apply one framework (unless it is the Rule of Three) to all the different Strategic (and Craft & Execution) questions you might get. 

How to prepare

• Practice the Lean Product Canvas for 5 to 10 products

  • This might take 10+ hours of work

• Speculate on the strategies of products you love or hate.

• Read articles by thought leaders that analyze decisions (think Ben Thompson)

• Practice answering questions in 5 minute or less.

  • Repeat this many times in one hour mock session

• Rule of Three

  • 3 Reasons Yes (or positive POV)

  • 3 Reasons No (or negative POV)

• Assume most questions you are asked are bad ideas, not good ideas.

Frameworks to Consider

• Lean Product Canvas

• Pros/Cons

• SWOT

• Porter’s 5 Forces

• 4 Cs: Customers, Cost, Connivence, Communication

• 4Ps: Product, Price, Places, Promotion

• Landscape

• Media Types

• Who & How

• The Rule of Three
  

Strengths & Weaknesses of Frameworks

• Lean Product Canvas

  • Strengths - Covers 9 key elements of strategic analysis of businesses and business problems. Helps you practice and get comfortable with strategic concepts, particularly if your role is execution focused and you have been starved of this opportunity.

  • Weaknesses - Really meant for studying only. It is way too long to use practically during an interview. Just try to (1) remember all the elements and (2) address them all in under 5 or 10 minutes. You can get there but it will take a lot of time. The ROI on being able to use it appropriately during an interview is low.

• Pros/Cons

  • Strengths - Most people naturally consider a list of pros and cons when making go/no-go decisions. You can embed SWOT into it to provide a framework within to keep you focused. Pros = Strengths + Opportunities. Cons = Weaknesses + Threats. Since we use it all the time and it is super simple, it is easy to use without sounding overly frameworky, or without forgetting what letters stand for.

  • Weaknesses - It can be too simple for some prompts. And if you don’t embed SWOT into it, you might be prone to ramble on ineffectively.

• SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats

  • Strengths - This is a well-known framework that can be easily used without sounding overly frameworky. Most, but not all, strategy questions on investment decisions or should we do X can easily be answered by thinking about The Company’s Strengths vs Weaknesses, The Market Opportunities vs Threats from Competitors (or regulators).

  • Weaknesses - Be careful, some people make it sound robotic. I find the most commonly missed question when using this framework is the scale question. Is it a good idea but (1) will the opportunity be big enough for a large company and (2) can this kind of idea be scaled.

• Porter’s 5 Forces: Competition, New Entrants, Suppliers, Customers & Substitutes

  • Strengths - It is well-known and covers most of what you need. It is a mini-version of the Lean Canvas.

  • Weaknesses - Most people can’t remember all 5 and end up stumbling as they try to stick to the framework in real time when they don’t really know the framework. It also doesn’t evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the company which are often the easiest way to quickly assess viability. It also doesn’t check on the aforementioned size and scalability questions you should ask for most “Should X do Y?” Or “What would you do?“ questions.

• 4 Cs: Customers, Cost, Connivence, Communication

  • Strengths - Go to Market (GTM) or Marketing questions can be tackled with this one.

  • Weaknesses - It really is a marketing strategy framework, so if you love it you will need to memorize a few more to cover all your bases.

• 4Ps: Product, Price, Places, Promotion

  • Strengths - Works for GTM and launch strategies. Given that Google is recommending addressing monetization plans and marketing sizing, this will help you think monetization or pricing. Think: Purchase Item vs Subscription Model, etc. Likely helpful for Craft & Execution questions. If you have to think about product launch, marketing or decision on product parts pricing, this could be very helpful.

  • Weaknesses - It doesn’t work for a huge class of strategy questions, so you will need to memorize other frameworks. Does Product really help you, you should already know that for the prompt. PMs aren’t typically focused on this area so places and promotion might take some practice (see media types below). I also don’t expect promotion will be all that important unless the prompt explicitly covers it.

• Landscape: Trends, Products, Leaders & Future

  • Strengths - This framework was custom designed for those larger, open-ended: Talk about X product area. It could be used for “Should X do Y?” questions as well. It is a short check list to help show you can think about a larger area and retains room for common sense.

  • Weaknesses - It isn’t designed to navigate marketing or product launch questions. It has a limited purpose.

• Three Media Types: Earned, Owned & Paid

  • Strengths - If you have a GTM or Marketing question for a tech product focused at consumers, this is a simple and useful framework that resonates with most people as it starts with earned media (social media) which has come to dominate tech big and small.

  • Weaknesses - It has a very limited use case. For PMs without marketing experience, you need to practice it a bit and solve a few cases with it before it becomes second nature.

• Who & How Marketing/Launch

  • Strengths - You can’t get much more simple than asking “Who are we trying to reach?” and “How will we reach them?” This can help if you have to give a marketing plan with 3 to 5 minutes remaining.

  • Weaknesses - It is super simple so if the interviewer is looking for pricing and market size thoughts, you might miss them. Be careful.

• Rule of Three

  • Strengths - So very, very simple. You can get yourself out of almost every question by stopping to think for a minute about what are the three most important items I need to address here. You can even use it to say what are the three positive reasons and what are the three trade offs. If you only have 5 minutes, and you can leverage common sense, this can save you ever time.

  • Weaknesses - You need to be confident and well practiced. Identifying the three most important points of any prompt require a bit of practice.

Use What Works for You + Common Sense

Ultimately, if you can’t remember the framework, you can’t use it. If you don’t have any framework or structure, you will ramble and fall down. If you stick to a framework that doesn’t apply to the question, you are in deep trouble and sound robotic. 

So, practice with the frameworks but use common sense on interview day. You might find some work better for consumer products and others for enterprise or government, particularly if the question is on marketing and GTM planning.  Different questions will lead you to point out different reasons. If you practice enough you will intuitively know what to address. Just as we learn how to tackle product problems through experience. 

Know another? 

If you have another framework you prefer or have tested and want to get my POV on using it for a Google interview, drop me a note at: intrico.io@gmail.com