I’ll show you how it can happen through a variety of business cases. You’ll meet some of my former clients — our aforementioned software engineer, a Hollywood producer, and an entrepreneur named Jared who wants to eliminate the need for currency with his transactional online platform. You’ll meet two of my students — Bita and Ena — who participated in a UX apprenticeship in which they chased a made-up value proposition in order to document my UX strategy process. I’ll even reach back into my family ancestry, because I know I was incentivized to be entrepreneurial from watching and learning from my parents. You’ll see how the journey is a reward, no matter if you’re the teacher, student, or maker. You’ll also see that no matter the project or the circumstances, devising products is like being on a rollercoaster, and the only way to keep the product on the rails is to use empirical, cost-efficient strategy techniques. As a UX strategist, I am paid to help my clients face dilemmas and chase dreams. This is why solid problem-solving skills are absolutely critical to mastering UX strategy. Strategy goes beyond the abstract nature of design and into the land of critical thinking. Critical thinking is disciplined thinking that is [6] clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence. Product stakeholders and entrepreneurs use the critical thinking in a UX strategy to help them connect the dots among all the points — the customers, their needs, and the solution they all want to solve using technology. It is in this way that UX strategists need to be equally passionate about technology, because the Internet continues to offer consumers an endless supply of digital options. Every click, swipe, and hover is a decision that users are able to make. They have choices — a gazillion of them — to buy or not buy, like or deride, share or forget, complete or cancel. You need to know what features to offer and how people actually use them. You need to understand all of the latest and upcoming devices, platforms, and apps so that you can consider their application for your solutions. You and your team need to do everything you can to ensure that Alice will fall down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. Are you ready to jump? [1] “Priceline Type Bed Auction Service Has Potential to Radically Transform Addictions Biz.” Treatment Magazine, January 12, 2012. http://tinyurl.com/8lj5wqa. [2] “Making a Treatment Match.” Behavioral Healthcare, February 25, 2013. http://tinyurl.com/mv5gq8u. [3] Definition of Experience Strategy by Jesse James Garrett in Indi Young’s book Mental Models, Rosenfeld Media, 2008; p 20. [4] http://www.space.com/15567-north-star-polaris.html