The Opportunity Radar
You don’t have a product problem. You have an opportunity problem.
Too many product teams jump straight into solutions, roadmaps, features, and releases, without stopping to ask:
Are we solving something that truly matters?
The Opportunity Radar is not another roadmap tool. It’s a way of thinking.
It helps Product Managers slow down just enough to evaluate signals, filter ideas, and focus resources where they will generate the highest impact.
This shift is critical because today’s markets move fast. Customer needs evolve, competitors adapt, and internal resources are limited. The winners are not the ones who build more, but the ones who identify “early” which opportunities are worth building.
With the Opportunity Radar, PMs can:
- Detect weak signals before competitors do.
- Distinguish noise from real demand.
- Prioritize initiatives with business relevance, customer urgency, and strategic fit.
Because the most successful products didn’t start with execution. They started with a signal worth chasing.
The Cost of Chasing the Wrong Opportunity
It’s not just about wasting time. Chasing the wrong opportunity drains money, credibility, and momentum. Many companies only realize it when it’s too late: the team has built, launched, and marketed… only to discover that the problem solved was never critical to the customer.
Think of the hidden costs:
- Months of development on a product no one truly needs
- A demotivated team after a failed launch.
- Lost trust with customers and investors.
That’s why before execution, comes validation.
The most successful product teams know that speed is important, but building fast only works if you’re building the right thing. Validation is the safeguard that ensures effort, money, and credibility are not wasted.
Every idea should be tested against three essential filters before committing resources:
- Market signals: Is there proven demand, or just noise? Are customers already expressing the pain point clearly enough to justify action?
- Strategic alignment: Does this opportunity truly connect with your company’s vision and priorities? Or is it just a tempting distraction that might pull resources away from what really matters?
- Execution readiness: Even if the idea is relevant and aligned, do you realistically have the people, the budget, and the technical capability to deliver it effectively, and on time?