28/03/22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQrhwARFi_0
Why are so many products unsuccessful even with really smart people & teams? It has to do with biases.
Inputs -> outputs -> outcomes Inputs are user feedback, technical effort, etc. Outputs are the artefacts we create, the product, documentation, etc. Outcomes are the results and progress the company achieves as a result of the outputs. As a product manager, how do you get from A->B? This is all decisions.
You do not rise to the level of your plan. You fall to the level of your decision-making. So how do we make better decisions?
Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it. Daniel Kahneman
When we talk to customers about the problem that our product solves, we overestimate its severity. We get surprised when the customer doesn't end up buying or using our product.
Ensure that you have context of how important that specific problem is in relation to other problems.
We base our current product decisions on past product execution because we're already too attached to the work we've already put in and don't want it to 'have been for nothing'.
Instead of being rational, we attempt to rationalise. Combat with rigorous thinking.
We don't take the time to thoroughly understand the problem, domain, competitors, and other determinants of product success because we feel compelled to be in constant motion. We tell ourselves we must begin building and just iterate based on feedback.
Once you have a product, The IKEA Effect then begins to kick in. Remember that velocity (speed and a direction) > speed.
We craft product strategies and make suboptimal product decisions because we base these decisions on what we know we can easily execute today.
We avoid things that seem 'hard to execute' even if they will make a major positive impact.
Often more visible in organisations that reward and value shipping code, regardless of the result. Find a way to get the conditions you want, regardless of the circumstances.
I suppose it is tempting, If the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. Abraham Maslow
We use a process, framework, a skill, or something that we are most comfortable with even when its utility is limited or counterproductive in a specific product context. Instead, think context first. The same tools can both help us, and harm us.
We don't account enough for scenarios that could (under certain conditions) lead to a catastrophic outcome for our product or a PR nightmare for our company.
Especially common in companies where moving fast and breaking things is rewarded. Pre-mortems is a good tool to combat this bias. Prevention > heroics.
We devise product strategies, conceive product features, and propose product plans based largely on what we think is going to either confirm the beliefs held by those in a position of authority or more easily get us approval to proceed.
We often aim for a 'successful product review meeting' at the expense of a 'successful product'. Foster constructive dissonance instead, go for the right answer rather than proving yourself right.
Self-awareness. We're all susceptible to these.
Shared vocabulary. Make your team more aware of these by name. It's much easier to call out the bias by name, rather than trying to point out the underlying effect.
Culture change. Org-wide change doesn't come from surface level treatment. Ideally these are surfaced and visible by managers and leaders.
#breakdown