Board Member | CEO | CEO Advisor | Author | Product Management Expert | Instructor | Designing product organizations for scalability.
Getting fixated on outputs while losing sight of outcomes is a trap many Product teams fall into. 🪤 I had a fantastic conversation with Joshua Seiden in this Product Thinking Episode. Josh is a consultant and bestselling author of Lean UX, Sense and Respond, and Outcomes Over Output. In our discussion, Josh and I dove into why it's so much easier to say "outcomes over outputs" than it is to actually commit to it in practice. We explored the importance of measurable outcomes, the difference between correlation and causation, and how teams can get too fixated on process rather than the big picture outcomes they're trying to achieve. Some key takeaways from our conversation: ►One of the biggest challenges companies face is the legacy of how they manage their work, which prevents them from becoming truly outcome-centric. ►Josh advises building a logic model that identifies the leading and lagging indicators to determine if your business model could be successful. Look at the data that's already out there instead of reinventing the wheel. ►The simple question "just tell me a story..." can be surprisingly powerful in shifting the focus to data and the outcomes you're trying to achieve. ►To foster an outcome-focused culture, companies need to develop a risk-tolerant, psychologically safe environment where employees can freely experiment to find what works best. This conversation was packed with insights that every product leader needs to hear. If you're struggling to truly embed an outcomes-driven approach in your organization, I encourage you to give it a listen. What have you found to be the biggest barriers to becoming more outcomes-focused in your organization? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Listen now:https://lnkd.in/eWUHSPkW #ProductThinking #ProductManagement #OutcomesOverOutputs
It’s funny when we say that experiments require risk tolerance, isn’t it? They’re far less risky that just guessing, but the fear and anxiety they produce among management pushes them towards the very risk they are trying to avoid.
Thank you for sharing the key takeaways; they really resonate with me. I discuss the correlation and causation between outputs, outcomes, and impact with my customers on a daily basis. From what I've learned, it's incredibly valuable to identify what isn't working. Why? Because it allows you to stop wasting resources and return to more productive work much more quickly. However, as you've already pointed out in your takeaways, fostering an outcome-focused culture that includes psychological safety is essential for this to be effective.
For software products, the necessity to keep a team of 6-figure employees busy with new work every 2 weeks can drive the output over outcomes scenario. It takes a lot of planning, much further in advance than you would think, to keep 10, 20 or more people busy on the RIGHT things, all of the time, forever. It’s a lot of pressure. But building good processes makes it MUCH easier.
Love this debate.. so much so.. that we coach teams that its not ‘either/or’ its ‘both/and’. Outputs drive Outcomes.. they’re mutually inclusive. With no output (doing something) there is no outcome (getting a result)
What a great point! It's funny how sometimes when we feel like we're repeating ourselves, it's actually a sign that the message is hitting home. Looking forward to checking out your conversation. It sounds like it's full of nuggets of wisdom that we could all benefit from!
Absolutely love the discussion here! To add to it: Designs that add user value are a series of experiments. Fostering a culture that celebrates both successes and key learnings—including failed hypotheses—is fundamental to innovation. Embracing this mindset is key to outcome orientation.
Agile Product Owner
1moEveryone SAYS they want to measure outcomes over output. Then they use sprint points as a metric ... because it's impossible to outsmart? I wish folks would see that those metrics undermine a team's sense of safety.