name: four-bbs-roadmap description: Use during quarterly or annual roadmap planning, when Engineering wants tech debt work while PMs want features and Leadership wants moonshots, to force explicit resource allocation

The Four BBs Strategy Framework

Overview

A strategic allocation framework to categorize product work into four distinct buckets, ensuring balanced roadmap between maintenance, growth, and innovation.

Core principle: If I gave you 100 focus points, how much goes in each bucket?

The Four Buckets

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           RISK                                  │
│           Low ◄─────────────────────────────► High              │
│  ┌───────────────────────┬───────────────────────┐              │
│  │   BRILLIANT BASICS    │      BIG BETS         │  Differen-  │
│  │                       │                       │  tiator     │
│  │   Non-negotiable      │   Large, risky        │              │
│  │   tech debt, hygiene  │   initiatives for     │              │
│  │   "Brilliant" not     │   significant growth  │              │
│  │   just "debt"         │                       │              │
│  ├───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┤              │
│  │   BREAD AND BUTTER    │    BREAKING BAD       │  Transform- │
│  │                       │                       │  ational    │
│  │   Core features,      │   Existential pivots, │              │
│  │   incremental         │   moonshots,          │              │
│  │   optimizations       │   redefine identity   │              │
│  └───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┘              │
│          Incremental                   Foundational             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Example Allocation

Role	Brilliant Basics	Bread & Butter	Big Bets	Breaking Bad
Mature Product	20%	50%	25%	5%
Growth Stage	15%	40%	35%	10%
Pivot Mode	10%	20%	30%	40%

Common Mistakes

Calling foundational work "tech debt" (demotivating)
Getting stuck in Bread & Butter without investing in Big Bets
No explicit allocation conversation with stakeholders

Source: Anuj Rathi (Jupiter Money, Swiggy, Flipkart) via Lenny's Podcast

Name	four-bbs-roadmap
Description	Use during quarterly or annual roadmap planning, when Engineering wants tech debt work while PMs want features and Leadership wants moonshots, to force explicit resource allocation