Pressure-Testing Chapter 09
Run This Against Your Current Roadmap
This exercise exposes misalignment fast. Run it in one meeting.
Step 1: Lay the Roadmap Flat
List:
- All planned publishes
- All campaigns
- All experiments
- All standing commitments
No justification yet. Just list.
Step 2: Ask These Three Questions (Per Item)
Question 1: What judgment does this reinforce?
If the answer is unclear or generic → ❌
Question 2: What decision does this shorten?
If it doesn’t change buyer behavior → ❌
Question 3: What breaks if we cancel this?
If the honest answer is “nothing meaningful” → ❌
Step 3: Categorize Ruthlessly
Label each item:
- Anchor Reinforcement → Keep
- Supporting Context → Keep only if necessary
- Activity Disguised as Progress → Kill
Most teams discover 40–60% of planned work falls into the third category.
That’s the point.
Step 4: Leadership Test
Ask:
“If we remove half of this roadmap, would confidence increase or decrease?”
If confidence increases, the roadmap was the problem.
Step 5: Lock the Kill Decisions
- Remove items publicly
- Explain why they were killed
- Protect the remaining work explicitly
Silence = future resurrection.
The Reality Check
If Chapter 09 feels impossible to apply, it means the roadmap is optimized for reassurance—not leverage.
Pressure reveals truth.