The cheeky backside of product potential … the not-yet-formed
Think about any big new product launch. If NewThingX gets noticed by the world, it’s because it demonstrates glistening potential. But look hard enough at any NewThingX in its early days and you will also see the cheeky and unflattering backside of product potential-- the not-yet-formed.
Depending on how much experience/time/money went into NewThingX, there can be varying amounts of not-yet-formed that ships in early versions. Every NewThing has loads of the not-yet-formed, even (and especially?) from the best product companies in the world.
As point of illustration, consider the Apple watch. (I’m not picking on Apple… yesterday was the iWatch’s 6th birthday, and it is top of mind.) Tim Cook stood on-stage at the Yerba Buena Center and announced the first new hardware product since Steve Jobs days. And the world collectively gasped. And one thing was true: the thing was glistening with potential and ripe for celebrities, early adopters and technocrats to slap one on.
Just as obvious? The not-yet-formed was also on full display. Anyone who wears an Apple watch for a minute knows that there is still much potential untapped in this handy bit of technology. (Why is my watch telling me to stand up when I’m driving at 65 mph? Why do I have to charge it every night when part of its advertised utility is biomonitoring my sleep patterns and being a haptic alarm clock? Why does Siri (still) absolutely suck but the watch is the best interface for it?).
A Product Truth:
Product potential and product not-yet-formed are intrinsically linked. When you build or market something, you better have a plan for balancing the potential and promise that will sell your product vs. the wobbly not-yet-formed backside that could disillusion your user.
Apple is a masterclass example of managing this potential-to-unformed ratio.
In fact, I would say that is their brand of magic. They innovate, iterate and upgrade at a rate that ensures fresh utility and usefulness (and sometimes delight) and obscures (just enough) the wobbly backside that is there. Or at least will be there until the next software update. (Siri being the exception— that app just stays crappy release over release.)
There is a premise in software development that says: If you wait until you feel your technology/ software release is perfect, you’ve waited too long for the market. I think that holds up for any industry…perfect is the enemy of good.
I flip it around to say it differently: the market is hungry for the product potential but has limited patience for the not-yet-formed that inherently comes with it. And herein lies the challenge for us in product building (and the ultimate magic trick for any company selling anything ever).
The not-yet-formed has to be just out of sight or obscured so that it does not eclipse the value it delivers at the moment.
Plan for upgrades and value delivery at a fast enough rate to keep the glisten on the potential while you learn from real-world usage for a better product.
This post’s image credit: "old jello mold" by Muffet is marked with CC BY 2.0.
