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Product teams understand that what matters is results. Whenever possible, product teams expect to be accountable for outcomes rather than output. But this works only if product teams are given a problem to solve (rather than a particular potential solution to build) and are then empowered to come up with a solution that works.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as talking to customers every week. That’s a good start. But we also need to consider the rest of our continuous-discovery definition: At a minimum, weekly touchpoints with customers By the team building the product Where they conduct small research activities In pursuit of a desired outcome I’ve met many teams who are good at talking to customers. But they forget that the purpose of these customer touchpoints is to conduct research in pursuit of a desired outcome. Those last two lines of the definition are critical. We aren’t doing research for research’s sake. We are doing research so that we can serve our customers in a way that creates value for our business.
Continuous Discovery Habits
Teresa Torres
To bridge this gap, we need to shift our focus. Yes, revenue and profit matter, but they're the result of customer behavior, not the cause. Instead of fixating solely on financial metrics, we need to ask:
1. What are our customers doing (or not doing) today?
2. What’s stopping them from being more successful and/or satisfied?
3. How might we deliver more/better/different value to drive the behaviors we want to see?
This approach requires a delicate balance. We can't ignore financial realities, but we also can't afford to sacrifice customer value in pursuit of short-term gains. Instead, we need to find creative ways to align customer needs with business goals.
Are Your C-Suite Metrics Ignoring What Customers Really Want?
Jeff Gothelf
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