Recipe to Successful Product Development

Ideas are funny like things, they won’t work unless we do”- I had read this small yet powerful statement inscribed on a small piece of wooden artifact during my visit to a successful entrepreneur’s office. I could never understand the depth and efficacy of this statement till I moved on to the big business of software product development. It was a lifetime experience to see a product evolving out of a myriad of ideas, which had no basis for existence or evolution. But what went behind the evolution of the product from a naïve idea was an endless passionate journey of pain and pleasure, which led me to conclude – “Behind a successful product; there are only a handful of passionate and committed enthusiasts”.

This article is a small effort towards sharing my thoughts on how to build that small yet powerful team of passionate people who translate small weird, funny ideas into million dollar products.

Keep it small

Start by building small teams of 3-4 people. Small teams instill great sense of togetherness and belongingness amongst the members. It breaks all the barriers of formality, hesitation, and hierarchy and establishes a highly collaborative environment – an important ingredient for success.

Sign – up people to the common vision

Ensure that every member in your team has signed up for the cause for which the organization exists. A team where people put personal agenda before organization objectives can never succeed.

Translate individual aspirations to product objectives

Understand every team member’s short term and long term career aspiration. Allocate a role on an ongoing basis based on his aspirations that can help the organization meet its product objective.

Build owners and not executors

Don’t hire people to delegate and execute tasks. It only creates an autocratic and bureaucratic environment. Build owners who can take responsibilities with great sense of ownership and with great feeling of empowerment. The sense of ownership is electrifying. It infuses great amount of energy and enthusiasm in an individual, which propels an individual to his maximum potential.

Encourage free flow of ideas

Set up an environment where people can express their ideas without any hesitation or fear. Remember, a true product development environment is one, which becomes a heaven for innovators and creators.

Build Transparency

Build a transparent environment. Share the success and failures of your organization in a transparent manner. Let your team be your biggest critique or biggest admirer. Actively seek their opinion in an open forum on various issues concerning the welfare of your organization.

Build killer instinct

A true product development team comprises of people who go behind their dreams with a killer instinct. They are go-getters. Transform your team to wear this attitude in life and you will never worry about the outcome.

Hear Customer’s Voice

No business in the world can succeed if the organization is not receptive to customer’s needs and desires. Make every person in the organization sensitize and orient towards a customer’s need. Only a receptive team can deliver a million dollar product to the organization.

Find your desert warrior

Always look for an individual who can sail you through the odds of business lifecycle – your desert warrior. If you can’t find one, then groom one.