Build like a scientist, not a sculptor

A sculptor takes a lump of rock and chips away at it until the form appears. This is probably an excellent way to make art but a lousy way to build products.

But we still do it. Why is that?

Let’s dive in …

If you are a bit like me and need to have something physical in your hands to get a feel for it, you can relate.

We build a “great product” and then try to market it, which doesn’t work.

If you advise someone else how to build something correctly, it’s obvious what the steps should be.

• Find a way to make money before blowing the development budget.
• Find a problem worth solving and figure out the customers.
• Use tight feedback loops to increase learning.
• Test your ideas before building them.
• Do market research…

So why is applying the same principles to our products so hard?

Because it’s uncomfortable.

If you’re better at writing code than doing market research, that’s where you’ll spend time.

If you’re better at web design than marketing, you’ll spend hours crafting the perfect landing page.

Here’s my hack:

I treat my projects as if they were client projects.

It works in a company setting, too. It’s easy to imagine having an unlimited budget and just starting to work on comfortable things when you don’t track spending.

How much does a month of building the wrong thing cost you? Probably a lot.

Imagine you’re building it for someone else. You will estimate, plan, and execute efficiently. You will inspect costs and calculate the ROI.

You don’t need a client. You can be your client.

A simple mindset shift could be enough to push you to the results you want.

P.S. What is the one thing you should be doing but have been putting off because you want it to be perfect? What if you were your own client? How would you reframe it? Let me know how it went.

Enjoy the weekend,

Taj