You're (probably) not as far behind as you think

I've had the privilege of having conversations with thousands of product people and their teams over the course of my years building Mind the Product and ProdPad .. and the number one theme that pops up, time and time again, is some version of dismay or self-doubt about how their organization builds products.

“Honestly, I know we’re not doing it right yet… but we’re working on it.”

After all these years, I’ve realized that every product team—yes, even the ones you’ve read about in those product thought leadership books that adorn all our Zoom backgrounds—thinks everyone else has it more figured out. More lean, more agile, more shiny. And almost always, it’s delivered in this sheepish, apologetic tone.

But because everybody embodies this doubt, it stands to reason that, actually, compared to everyone else, you're probably not as far behind as you might have thought.

That's because we highlight and laud the ones who have 'cracked it', but they become our only reference point. Or worse, we set our expectations based on reading up on made up case studies, trying to put in practice things that only work in a vacuum.

It's like judging your looks by flipping through a glossy magazine or scrolling through AI generated models, instead of looking around the room at other normal people like you. It's disheartening at the least!

And it leaves an unrealistic expectation of what 'good' looks like.

What I've actually found is that pretty much everyone I speak to acknowledges that their processes aren't perfect and are actively trying to bring in better processes. Most have taken a stab at trying to make a difference, and most have met with some (or a lot!) of resistance. Change management is hard, after all, and organizations are complex beasts full of complex people.

But it's the act of admitting that your company isn't running on all cylinders, and then taking steps to fix it, that's most critical, when you know things could be working better. After all, you can't fix something if no one's willing to accept it's broken.

So let's embrace our janky processes and lumpy release flows, and instead of beating ourselves up that it's not perfect, spend that time figuring out the next iteration of how we work.

After all, a product process is much like a product: something you can observe, measure, and iterate on.

Ultimately, I'd argue that our product process is the most important product we can work on. It's the thing that enables us to deliver the thing that delivers the value.

But let's give ourselves a break with the sheepish talk and assuming that your company is on the lagging edge. Speak up about it with other product people and you might just find you're in good company, and amongst those who can share their own journey and from which you might learn (or teach!) a trick or two. Honest, those are the sort of case studies I want to read about!

Now perhaps my viewpoint is biased. After all, I'm often talking to people who are just beginning their ProdPad journey, and as a platform that's designed to help forge and lock in better product management habits and practices across the team, it's not unfair to assume I attract those that are more on this learning journey than others. Perhaps I really have scooped up all the misfits (not for the first time in my life!) and everyone in my filter bubble really is behind the curve. But I don't see it that way, this seems to be bigger than our work, and truly universal.

Help me get a wider picture. How do you feel you've cracked it (or not!) compared to others?