At a certain stage in my life, I was at a crossroads: did I want to be in academia or go into the industry? What at that moment certainly felt like a life-changing decision, after having lived in both worlds, I noticed they are not as far apart as I had originally considered them to be.
This thought hit me as I was going through different YouTube videos about strategy, OKRs and all the big words that are now an established part of startup parlance. I had a moment of déjà vu. Wait a minute. I have heard this before.
I was suddenly thrown back into my first research methods classes and this simple yet poignant question my advisor would drill me with: so, José, what is the question you are trying to answer?
Turns out I was not alone back then. In the industry there are committees, boards and countless meetings trying to nail down what problem their product is actually solving.
And, again, to quote my advisor: the methods should follow your question and hypothesis and not the other way around. This is no different in the industry. The mission, vision, strategy, OKRs and roadmap should follow your question and hypothesis and not be a replacement for the lack of one.
As planning for the new quarter starts and you find yourself buried in sticky notes, Miro boards and workshops, trying to translate it all into strategy documents, OKRs and initiatives, connect with your inner advisor and ask yourself: what is the problem we are trying to solve here? Just as in school, answering might be difficult and thought provoking, but in exchange everything that follows will come naturally from it.