From Velocity to Value: Stepping Into True Product Leadership

What got us here will not get us there

I grew up in the sales driven era. Requests poured in. Agile hit the scene and it felt like magic. Suddenly we could handle 25 asks at once across 20 scrum teams. Velocity charts climbed. Relationships with engineering improved. We got really good at getting stuff done.

But the job changed. The expectations changed. The stakes definitely changed.

When speed became the only story we told

For a long stretch, speed was the headline. Burn charts, sprint counts, points burned. We optimized the how and the when. Business leaders loved it because it looked like progress. It was progress, just not the full story.

Then a quiet realization hits when you step back and review the last three years. We shipped a lot. We spent a lot. Can we say with confidence what the business actually gained from it?

That gap is the problem. We measured activity, not impact. And it shows up right when boards and executives want clarity on outcomes, ROI, and direction.

The talent we sidelined: product as GM

Product roles were born to be the bridge between business intent and engineering execution. Think GM roots, P&L awareness, market feel. Somewhere along the way, as product moved deeper into tech orgs, many of us over rotated to delivery. Comfortable. Safe. Busy.

Our real job is bigger. Understand where the business is going, build technology that accelerates that direction, and measure the lift. If the company is expanding internationally, how will our product make that real? Are we translating the product experience end to end, not just UI strings? Are we enabling support, compliance, and payments in-region? Are users in China or Germany actually adopting, retaining, and upgrading because of our work?

That is product leadership. It is not just prioritizing tickets. It is owning a line of sight from investment to impact.

Related: are we actually tracking outcomes or just shipping more? Read Are We Really Tracking Outcomes.

Why organizations still blur product and project

Many companies still do not know what product is supposed to do. So they let us stay in project mode because it is legible. Dates, burndown, scope. The work looks tidy. The value story stays fuzzy.

Here is the truth. We are expected to do both. Define the why and the what, then ensure the how and the when actually land. That tension is the role. Smaller firms may merge it. Larger firms separate it. Either way, leaders must anchor to outcomes first.

If you need a clean refresher on the distinction, I like these primers: Asana on product vs. project, The Digital Project Manager, and ProductPlan.

What is really happening underneath

Product leaders default to the familiar. We sit with engineering 50 hours a week. We manage dependencies. We edit JIRA. We feel helpful. But we leave money on the table when we do not pressure test the business case.

Example. Sales says a feature will drive fifty-thousand dollars in average contract value uplift. Great. What is the segment, attach rate, pricing assumption, ramp, and expected win rate delta? What is the confidence interval? How will we know within 30, 60, 90 days if the bet is paying off? If we do not ask, we are not de risking a multi million dollar build. We are just hoping.

This is not cynicism. It is stewardship.

How to shift from output to outcomes

Here is what I have seen work across mid market to enterprise orgs:

• Map strategy to initiatives. Translate corporate goals into product objectives. Tie every epic to a measurable business outcome like revenue by segment, churn reduction, retention in a target region, or self service conversion. If it does not map, it does not ship. For a useful frame on lifecycle choices, see Navigating the Product Life Cycle.
• Write short outcome hypotheses. For each initiative, define the user behavior change and the business result. Example: Translation and localized onboarding increase activation in APAC by 15 percent, improve ticket deflection by 20 percent, and add two points of net revenue retention in the region.
• Interrogate value claims. When commercial teams project ACV or win rate increases, partner with them on assumptions and measurement before you fund the build. Document the test plan and leading indicators.
• Trust your delivery partners. Let engineering leaders or a project manager run the daily mechanics. Use your time to meet customers, sit with sales and support, and align with marketing, legal, and finance.
• Adopt an outcomes review rhythm. Monthly or quarterly, report a balanced scorecard: execution health plus business impact. Velocity and on time are hygiene, not headlines. Impact is the headline.
• Tell the story. Translate numbers into narrative for the C suite. Why this market, why now, what we learned, what we are changing next. Story drives alignment. If this resonates, I wrote about it here: Moving Beyond Execution.

Metrics that matter

Execution metrics are necessary, but they are not the score. Elevate metrics that show business progress:

• Acquisition and activation in target segments or regions
• Adoption and depth of use for specific features tied to monetization
• Retention and expansion by cohort, industry, and region
• Sales efficiency like cycle time, attach rate, and win rate for product led motions
• Cost to serve via support deflection, self service completion, and onboarding time

Velocity and story points can live in an appendix. They are internal signals, not business outcomes.

Educating an organization that does not get product yet

Start with clarity. Publish a one page brief that explains the difference between product outcomes and project outputs. Share role definitions and the operating rhythm. Useful primers to share: Product vs. project by Product People and DPM on the collaboration.

Then show results. Pick one or two initiatives, define the outcome hypothesis, and report against it. When you can connect a release to a measurable lift in retention, expansion, or deflection, you earn permission to lead the work the right way.

If you are formalizing these practices across teams, align your approach with how your company builds value. Iteright’s lens is simple: strategy, storytelling, and measurable outcomes move organizations forward. You can see that in how we talk about solutions and across the articles on iteright.com.

Where your career goes from here

This shift unlocks leverage. Product ops can streamline rituals. Engineering can own delivery flow. You can spend your time with customers and markets, sharpening the decisions only product can make. That is how you move from shipping more to creating value faster.

The industry is moving this way. Teams that separate strategy from execution, then reconnect them through outcomes, win. Teams that measure impact get funded. Teams that tell a clear story get aligned.

A closing challenge

Open your roadmap. For each item, write one sentence that links it to a business outcome you can measure in the next quarter. If you cannot write it, do not fund it yet.

We do not exist to finish story points. We exist to drive value. If you want a sounding board as you make the shift, reach out. Or explore these related reads: tracking outcomes and product life cycle.