The traditional "business case" for new features is an outdated exercise. Investors today, particularly in PE-backed SaaS companies, care about unit economics. They want to know how quickly every dollar spent on R&D will be recovered as revenue or profitability, a much more rigorous standard.

The old product leadership model was a "rat race" of adding features and specs. The new model prioritizes deep user understanding and data to solve the core problem, even if it results in fewer features on the box.

It's not enough to improve engagement or NPS. A product manager's job is to understand and articulate how that metric connects to a financial outcome for the business. Whether it's growth, margin, or profitability, you must explain to leadership why your product goals matter to the bottom line.

When scaling in operational companies like Walmart or Lyft, product leaders must analyze the entire P&L, not just revenue. The cost of training millions of employees on a new feature can outweigh its benefits, making frictionless, self-adopted solutions essential.

Adopt an "unshipping" culture. If a feature doesn't meet a predefined usage bar after launch, delete it. While a small subset of users may be upset, removing the feature reduces clutter and confusion for the majority, leading to a better overall user experience.

Figma learned that removing issues preventing users from adopting the product was as important as adding new features. They systematically tackled these blockers—often table stakes features—and saw a direct, measurable improvement in retention and activation after fixing each one.

A compliance tool flagged for decommissioning was transformed into a strategic asset. The key was modularizing it for different personas and repositioning it from a burdensome tracker to the central hub for portfolio data, which drastically cut duplicate reporting and improved cycle times.

Constantly delivering custom solutions is inefficient and destroys profitability. Instead, define a standardized, repeatable service package that can be sold and delivered consistently, maintaining high margins and simplifying operations.

The strategy of eliminating the "worst 20%" applies across the business. Beyond firing unprofitable customers, analyze your product lines and even your team. Discontinuing low-margin, high-hassle products or removing toxic employees can free up immense resources and improve overall business health just as effectively.