It Is Time to Get Ruthless About Your Product Priorities
Every year around this time, teams try to squeeze in one last sprint, one more feature, one more improvement before the holidays hit. It feels productive. It feels like momentum. But in reality, this season is one of the easiest times to drift.
There is only so much capacity left in the year. Which means this is the moment to get honest about what should make it into 2026 and what should get thrown overboard.
This is the moment to get ruthless.
Why End of Year Prioritization Matters More Than You Think
When product teams try to power through December without intention, they usually walk straight into January already behind. The cost shows up fast.
• Missed customer commitments
• Unclear expectations across teams
• Half-finished work that steals focus in Q1
• A roadmap that no longer reflects what the business needs
The companies that stay healthy through the holidays take a different approach. They tighten their focus, clarify what actually creates value, and move the rest to the icebox without guilt.
This is not about doing less. It is about doing the right things in the right order.
Start With One Question: What Should Carry Forward vs What Should Sink
A strong product strategy starts with clarity about what not to do. Before you decide what to push into January, map your current work across three buckets.
1. Must Stay: The Work That Directly Serves Revenue or Retention
These are the projects tied to deals closing, contracts renewing, or commitments you have made to high value customers. They have a measurable business impact and a clear owner.
2. Should Stay: The Work That Unblocks 2026 Initiatives
This work might not be flashy, but it clears pathways. Examples include refactoring that supports scale, data cleanup for upcoming integrations, or user experience improvements tied to next year’s roadmap.
3. Can Wait: The Work That Feels Good but Does Not Move the Needle
These are nice-to-haves, experiments, or features that no customer is actually asking for. Let them sink into your backlog for now. If they are important, they will resurface naturally in roadmap planning.
The Balanced Path Approach to Prioritization
At Whale Song, we talk a lot about the Balanced Path. It is our method for helping early to mid-stage companies grow in a healthy and predictable way. Prioritization is one of the biggest places founders get stuck.
Here is how the Balanced Path applies today.
Be honest about your constraints
Time, people, money, and attention are all limited. Use that reality to your advantage. Constraints make decisions easier.
Sequence, do not stack
The instinct is to stack initiatives. The smarter move is to sequence them so each one sets the next one up for success.
Tie every priority to an objective
If the work does not support a 2026 business goal, move it. If it does, elevate it.
Create a Short List Your Team Can Actually Execute
You should walk into December with no more than three priorities per team. Not tasks. Priorities.
The list should fit on one page. Everyone should know what matters and why it matters. And every initiative should include:
• The measurable outcome
• The owner
• The timeline
• The link to a company-level goal
This becomes your organization’s compass when distractions show up.
A Cleaner Start to 2026 Begins Right Now
End of year prioritization is not about slowing down. It is about steering intentionally.
The companies that treat this season as a strategic checkpoint enter January with clarity, momentum, and fewer fires to put out.
If you take just one action this week, take a hard look at your current work and decide what truly deserves to move into the new year.
You can always add more later.
You cannot get back the time you spend on the wrong things.
How Whale Song Helps Teams Prioritize the Right Way
If you need help identifying where to focus, aligning your roadmap to your business goals, or building a healthier plan for 2026, our team can help you chart the course.
Most companies do not need more work. They need clearer priorities.