Is your product development a gold mine or a time bomb?

Is your product development a gold mine or a time bomb?

I’ve seen many organizations spiral into confusion and inefficiency as they attempt to forge a path toward the future.

The unease, the resistance, and the fears all surface when dealing with the uncertainties of the future.

Even when you have a clear vision, strategy in place, a culture that backs it up, and a set process, things can still go south.

It’s often because they forget the simplest of principles.

They forget to be ‘open’.

Why be open?

– It delivers solutions that resonate with all stakeholders because they are a part of the development; their input shapes the product

– It accelerates the speed-to-market as trust is established, pushing you ahead of the competition

What are some ways to ensure this openness?

Empathize: Make it your mission to understand each role on the team and honor their perspective.

Collaborate: Engage with stakeholders as early as possible. This involves bringing in diverse functions and keeping them in the loop throughout the process.

Evaluate: Regularly assess both the solution’s delivery and the process’s effectiveness.

Get the core team right: It doesn’t matter where it starts as long as it’s filled with the right mindset.

Use structure: Depending on the degree of “innovation” involved, your company might likely view it as a threat…if this is the case, you need to separate the team leading the work from the larger organization to avoid, at best, pollution and at worst diluting it to something that will never succeed on its own merits.

What do you do to help better ensure the success of your product development efforts?