The false narrative of shifting from project to product — and why you need both

The intentions behind the project-to-product shift itself are valid, but too many organizations make the move without fixing the underlying problems, and set themselves up for the same challenges they’re trying to solve.

Getting the results you want from your strategy isn’t actually about choosing between project or product. It’s about making sure you have the right approach, people, and alignment to get your strategy delivered in a way that actually moves the needle. So don’t abandon project thinking altogether. Rather, ensure whatever delivery approach you choose is actually set up for success. That’s where most organizations fail, not because they’re managing projects vs. products, but because they never fixed the broken systems that prevent execution from working in the first place.

Strategy execution is like chess. Every piece has a role, and every move matters. If there isn’t focus on achieving the business goals, you won’t win — you’ll just move pieces around until you lose. If everyone in your organization isn’t aligned and strategically moving toward the final outcome, strategy execution turns into a disjointed effort with no real progress.

Shift the mindset and the right operating model will follow

The biggest misconception about the project to product shift is you have to choose one over the other. Success requires both. Product managers own the vision, ensure alignment with business goals, and focus on long-term value creation. Project managers, on the other hand, ensure the right people do the right work in the right way to drive the intended business outcomes, maximizing the worth it factor and ROI.

The best results come when you have both groups playing to their strengths instead of trying to have one role do it all. The natural tension between setting the vision and executing it efficiently is where the magic happens. That push and pull is what keeps organizations moving forward at the right speed and focused on the outcomes.

Many companies jumped on the Agile transformation bandwagon as a way to escape traditional project management, but Agile won’t save you if your strategy and execution aren’t aligned. That’s why Agile transformations fail just as often as any other approach, as many leaders now see in their own organizations. It’s not about the framework but rather ensuring the entire delivery system is working toward the same goal.

So whether you use Agile, Waterfall, or a hybrid approach, you need both a clear business goal for the product and an executable roadmap for how you’ll get there. These two perspectives often create friction, but that’s also what produces the right level of governance to keep the whole team aligned.

But alignment isn’t a one-time event. It’s a daily discipline that’s embedded in how you prioritize, measure progress, and make decisions. Without intentional alignment and role clarity across both product and project delivery, organizations end up with shiny product visions that never materialize, or perfectly managed projects that deliver things no one really needed.

If your teams aren’t set up to accelerate progress across the chess board, fix that first because no product strategy will be realized to its fullest potential without strong execution.

Getting your team to deliver on strategy

The key requirement to create an ecosystem where strategy and execution continuously reinforce each other is a system that aligns every part of the process. So define strategic goals to be clear on what success looks like from a business impact perspective, not just deliverables. And define not only the products that need to be built to achieve those goals, but also the execution plan. Then deliver the work to ensure outcomes are met with high impact.

This system creates a connected path between strategy definition, execution, and realization, allowing teams to work together in one integrated system instead of competing for control. And the good news is this path is much less disruptive to the way you’re already likely operating with project people and product people. It’s just about how you organize them into a new operating system that gets them into flow. It’s not about project or product as much as ensuring everyone in the organization is moving in the same direction with role clarity and a focus on results.

Don’t choose sides, choose results

Instead of allowing your teams to waste time debating whether project or product is the better approach, companies need to implement a model that ensures both are working in sync. Here’s what that looks like:

• Product managers focus on the destination by setting the vision and defining what success looks like.
• The project management office (PMO) focuses on governance and strategic alignment by creating the structure and prioritization framework that keeps the whole system focused on delivering value.
• Project managers focus on the path by getting the right people and doing the right work in the right way to make it happen.
• Agile and execution teams focus on iteration and value by delivering work that aligns with both the product vision and business needs.

Organizations that operate this way break free from the cycle of failed transformations, disconnected teams, and endless process perfection. They stop playing the wrong game and start executing strategy in a way that actually drives business outcomes.

How you set up your operating model and the people in it will determine your success. The companies that figure this out won’t just survive, they’ll lead. Those that don’t will keep moving pieces around the board every few years, hoping for a win, and not realizing the game was lost in how they lined up the pieces at the beginning. So the real question is are you just moving pieces, or are you playing to win?