Product teams launch mediocre products when we fail to learn as we build. We build for months, even years, never truly learning if we are building the right thing.
“What differentiates the success stories from the failures is that the successful entrepreneurs had the foresight, the ability, and the tools to discover which parts of their plans were working brilliantly and which were misguided, and adapt their strategies accordingly.” – Eric Ries, The Lean Startup.
First if we want to launch successful products, we need to find ways to continually learn as we build by using mockups, prototypes, MVPs, releasing early and often, and other such tools.
Second, we need to create space for adaptability. We can’t blind ourselves to negative feedback or information which contradicts our original idea. We need to be adaptable.
