I recently finished Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers, which has helped clarify my changing perspective on building products and businesses since I took the Product Sense course in December.
The book explores how businesses can develop long-lasting competitive advantages—”powers” that lead to persistent, superior returns (profits).
The book got me thinking about the difference between a product and a business lifecycle, and how product folks can integrate these insights into daily work.
A tale of two lifecycles
A major “aha!” moment for me was realizing that product lifecycle (from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline) is not the same as business lifecycle (the company’s broader journey, from founding and early-market entry all the way to scale, maturity, and possibly transformation or exit).
We often focus on just our product - “Where is my product in its lifecycle?” But we should step back and ask, “Where is my entire business right now, and where is it going?”
- Product lifecycle is about managing the evolution of a single offering: deciding on features, pricing, how to differentiate, and when (if ever) to retire or replace that product.
- Business lifecycle is about how the entire company evolves, sometimes through multiple products, pivots, and acquisitions. It includes operational processes, brand reputation, and strategic moves that can radically shift the company’s trajectory.
A classic example is Netflix. They began mailing DVDs in red envelopes (product lifecycle #1) and later transformed into a streaming service with original content (product lifecycle #2) while continuing to grow as a company (their business lifecycle). If they had focused on the DVD service itself, they would have missed the bigger picture—when one product starts to stall, the entire business can move into new territory.
Why 7 Powers feels relevant
Helmer’s “powers” are conditions that create the potential for persistent differential returns. In plain English, they are ways a business can stay ahead and keep earning more for a longer time.
There are seven lenses through which to see strategic landscape:
- Scale Economies: When costs per unit decrease as volume grows
- BENEFIT: Reduced production costs.
- BARRIER: Competitors face prohibitive costs to gain meaningful market share.
- Network Economies: As user numbers increase, products become more valuable.
- BENEFIT: Charge premium prices for added value.
- BARRIER: New entrants struggle because users won’t switch to less valuable networks.
- Counter-Positioning: New business model that incumbents can’t copy without undermining their core business.
- BENEFIT: Superior value proposition at lower cost.
- BARRIER: If they respond, established players face self-destruction.
- Switching Costs: When changing providers costs customers more than they would gain.
- BENEFIT: Maintain higher prices without losing customers.
- BARRIER: To win over customers, competitors must subsidize their transition costs.
- Branding: When products are objectively similar, customers pay a premium for perceived value.
- BENEFIT: Command higher prices through trust and perception.
- BARRIER: Building reputation requires significant time and consistency.
- Cornered Resource: Exclusive access to a valuable asset others can’t obtain.
- BENEFIT: Create unique value or efficiencies competitors can’t match.
- BARRIER: Legal protections or inherent scarcity prevent imitation.
- Process Power: Organizational methods creating superior products that competitors can’t replicate.
- BENEFIT: Deliver better products at competitive costs.
- BARRIER: Requires years of commitment to develop equivalent capabilities.
While reading the book, I saw how a startup might latch onto one power to stand out quickly. For example, a startup might use Counter-Positioning to challenge incumbents with a different business model. In contrast, a larger, mature company might develop or stack multiple powers, such as brand plus switching costs plus scale.
The take away for me was that, in different phases of both product and company, certain powers are more realistic to pursue than others.
- Early-stage: You might focus on discovering a unique resource (Cornered Resource) or a brand-new business model (Counter-Positioning) to enter the market.
- Scaling up: You might focus on Network Effects or Scale Economies, ensuring that as you grow, your costs drop or your user base becomes more established.
- Maturity and Beyond: You might have refined processes (Process power) or invested in brand (Branding), securing your advantages for the long term.
When product work meets Strategy
I’m a builder at heart. I enjoy identifying user problems and designing solutions. But 7 Powers calls out something I found myself overlooking: a product manager’s job doesn’t end at “product-market fit.” Achieving that “gotta have it” reaction from users is just the start.
When considering the business lifecycle, it becomes clear that there is more to the job beyond finding the right product-market fit.
- A great product alone might not sustain a company if new competitors copy your features.
- You need to build the right barriers (powers) around that product so the company benefits from your success moving forward.
For example, Switching Costs matter if you’re selling software that integrates deeply with your customer’s systems. If it’s painful to unplug your solution and replace it, you gain a defensive advantage. Alternatively, if your solution is easy to replicate or swap out, you need a different power—maybe a strong brand or unique resource.
Trade-offs and the hard stuff
Strategy seems straightforward and easy on paper. Yet in practice, strategy formation and execution remain challenging.
One obvious factor is that a few companies become generational and go on to succeed, which comes down to elite thinking. Yet a more profound issue is that our aversion to making trade-offs lies at the heart of this challenge.
The messiness of strategy in practice reflects ongoing tension between human desire for unlimited possibilities and the strategic necessity of painful choices. Effective strategy demands we make trade-offs, even though we instinctively resist closing doors and want to preserve every potential path forward. But strategy requires us to explicitly choose what we won’t do, even when that feels limiting and risky.
I’ve seen products struggle with this: you start seeing success, but you worry that focusing on one approach means giving up potential side hustles. Organizations frequently fall into the trap of trying to pursue multiple contradictory advantages at once - aiming to be both cost leader and premium innovator, trying to be everything for everyone.
Helmer warns us about this discomfort. Paradoxically, the willingness to make those clear-cut choices - as painful as they may be in the moment - creates more freedom, not less. By deliberately narrowing your focus, you unlock the resources, clarity, and single-minded determination required to develop capabilities that competitors can’t replicate.
It’s scary, no doubt. But leaning into that discomfort is the only way to forge a path that stands apart.
Does it always start with invention?
Helmer emphasizes the importance of Power Moments—critical windows in a market’s evolution where you have a chance to establish a lasting advantage.
These moments don’t wait.
You can’t say, “We’ll focus on branding later,” or “We’ll build scale economies eventually.” If you miss the window, you may lose the opportunity forever.
Timing is tricky because change creates new threats and opportunities. What works today might be obsolete tomorrow. The key is recognizing when a Power Moment arrives and acting with determination.
Helmer says that power begins with some form of invention—a breakthrough might be a technology you create, a better process, or a unique brand position. But that doesn’t mean you need a formed plan from day one.
Some powers, like a Cornered Resource, can emerge unexpectedly, especially in the origination phase before a company has created significant value for customers.
Once the new product creates compelling value for customers, the company can develop a strategy (a route to Power). In the takeoff phase, scale economies, network economies, and switching costs become key. And in the stability phase after rapid growth slows, brand and process power become critical.
The key point is:
- Know which powers suit your stage—maybe you’re small enough to outmaneuver incumbents with Counter-Positioning in the Origination phase.
- Keep your eyes open for new powers that emerge unexpectedly—some locked-away asset or new network effects you discover as you grow.
- Align with your business lifecycle—understand that your product might be in a budding or maturing phase, but your entire company might be changing direction or focusing on growth.
My takeaways for product (and strategy) work
Here are a few things I learned from reading 7 Powers:
- Map your Powers: Identify which of the 7 powers you have or could develop. That can inform your strategy.
- Embrace “Gotta-Have-It”: Start with a valuable product, then build your powers around that.
- Track both lifecycles: Watch your individual products and your business, as they may be in different stages.
- Be willing to pivot: Don’t be afraid to adjust your products if your broader business strategy demands it.
- Don’t fear trade-offs: Making tough choices is how you focus and stand out, not overextend yourself.
- Stay curious: Keep an eye out for hidden resources, unexplored brand potential, or ways to lock in switching costs. You may discover a power along the way rather than planning it from the beginning.
Closing remarks
7 Powers reminded me that building a product people love is the start. Big-picture thinking is required to translate that into a robust, long-term position.
For startups, it’s easy to say “we’ll figure out strategy later.” Helmer would tell us: the moment to seize power might be now, and missing it can close the door forever.
My advice is to keep both the product and business lifecycles in sight, whether you’re forging a new path with counter-positioning or refining your processes to build a moat no competitor can easily replicate. That perspective can save you from focusing on short-term wins at the expense of the lasting strategic advantage that makes a company unique.