You're scaling an innovative product with conflicting priorities. How do you determine the best path forward?

Start by assessing the impact of each priority. Evaluate key metrics like how a feature will affect your customers, whether it will boost revenue, and what operational efficiencies you might gain. For example, if a new feature can significantly reduce customer churn, that would be a top priority. You should also look at the market impact - will this feature give you an edge over competitors? And then there’s the technical side - will it create more technical debt, or will it streamline your infrastructure? Strategic alignment is also crucial; make sure each priority supports your long-term goals, not just the immediate ones.

Absolutely on should assess the need and unknown wants of likely customers. However, sometimes you just need to have faith in your own assessment and take the leap. 40 years ago, it was unfathomable that nearly everyone would pay for bottled water, yet here we are. People at that time would not have been able to widely anticipate the need or want.

I agree that customer needs and pain point need to be understood and assessed for creating the products and scaling those. However, I will also add that many a times customers don't know the pain or product that is likely addressing the new needs which have not been seen or imagined by the customers. I will give examples of many creative products that customers love when they see and use. In case of assessing the needs slight addition of innovation and imagination need to be checked by different categories of customers so that those innovative products are vetted by customers with some progress shown so they can see the value and love and create new trends.

Identify which priorities align best with your core objectives and will drive the most value for your customers. Focus on initiatives that deliver high impact and ROI while considering resource constraints. Balance long-term innovation with short-term gains to ensure sustainable growth as you scale.

One thing I’ve found helpful is adopting a dual lens approach to market trends. On one hand, we keep a close watch on macro trends that could disrupt the industry; on the other, we delve into micro trends within niche markets that are often overlooked. This dual focus allows us to stay ahead of the curve, while also tapping into emerging opportunities that align closely with our product’s unique strengths. The key is not just to follow trends, but to strategically decide which trends align with our long-term vision and have the potential to create sustainable value.

I will definitely add to find the subsection of the market or consumer segment in which you could be more competitive, and secondary market segment which you could be moderately successful. Most employees get swayed by the leading trends and often forget there are many secondary trends or lateral trends that can be initiated by your company as those are a great fit for your core competencies that others don't have. Sometimes, you can latch on those differentiated core competencies and can create a lateral sub market that are possible just because of your company n products.

Understanding market trends is crucial, but I believe we need to go beyond just following the current. We should aim to predict and even create trends. While staying informed about the industry, competitors, and tech advancements helps us adapt, let's incorporate futurist thinking and scenario planning. This could position us to lead rather than follow. We shouldn't lose sight of our users. Customer feedback offers insights that broad market trends might miss. Let's prioritize user experience alongside trend analysis. Why not create our own trends? By identifying unmet needs or reimagining existing products, we could set the pace for our industry.

Ich habe in meinem Unternehmen ein Insight-Management mit wiederkehrenden Routinen etabliert, die mir in der Strategie, Marketing und Sales helfen. Mein CTO hat einen KI-Agent geschrieben, der z.b. in Sales oder HR also Erstgespräche potentieller Kunden und Mitarbeiter transkribiert und nach den Kategorien "Herausforderungen und Ziele" aufarbeitet. Gleichzeitig schlägt er mir mindestens 3x Vorschläge für LinkedIn Beiträge vor :-) In einem Monat machen wir so ca. 30x Erstgespräche, diese werden dann zum Monatsende ebenfalls mit Strategie, Marketing oder Sales Content analysiert und ich erhalte einen Marktreport. Weiterer Hack: Newsletter von Konkurrenz und Branchen abonnieren und mit KI ebenfalls auswerten lassen.

How large is the market (Total Available)? In a large market, it is essential to understand the trends, geography and requirements connected with your product. In a small market (Semiconductors), market trends are defined by a small number of customers and understanding their needs may be easier.

The fundamental requirement for innovation is a "creative idea". Without a creative idea, there is no innovation. Generation of a creative idea is an intrinsic activity. How can, then, organisations "make" creative ideas happen? The organisational culture, climate, values, and resources all need to work together to create an environment condusive to innovation within an organisation. For that to happen, a visionary leadership is required. Everyone then works together to realise the vision. With this mindset, collaboration and efforts start taking shape. Scaling an innovation at requires a collaborative effort to generate, test and execute new ideas with resources and risk frameworks provided to covert ideas into an innovative product.

Additionally, consider these three tips: regularly communicate your vision to all team members to maintain focus, create a decision-making framework that weighs potential actions against your long-term goals, and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect progress towards your vision, not just short-term metrics.

Vision haben wir. Wo? Und dann hört es schon bei vielen auf :-) Bei jeder Produktinnovation ist es entscheidend zu verstehen, was die Unternehmensvision und -ziele sind! Auf der Basis sollte dann eine Produktvision hergeleitet werden. Die Produktvision unterstützt die Unternehmensvision und sollte konkrete Produktziele bzw. Kennzahlen haben. Der Gedanke ist: Bereits nach dem Launch eines MVPs können die Stakeholder nach 3 Monaten in einem Dashboard auf Basis von Kennzahlen und KPIs den Produkterfolg der Innovation beurteilen, anstatt nach Bauchgefühl. Besonders wichtig: Vor allem, im Visions-Workshop sollten alle Stakeholder vertreten sein, die am Produkt beteiligt sind. So erzielt man eine maximale Akzeptanz und Klarheit zu Beginn

Connecting with company vision is always part of product development. After defining a product modification or a new product, your first sale is to management, so gather all you need and take your boss to lunch.

Nach dem Launch einer Produktinnovation sollte es klare Kennzahlen und KPIs geben, die den Erfolg des Produktes messen. Zusätzlich ist es wichtig, dass jedes Release so geschnitten wird, dass es eine maximale Wirksamkeit in Richtung Business Value und Customer Value hat. Wir definieren z.b. Releases immer mit konkreten Hypothesen und KPIs. Nach Launch des Releases überprüfen wir die Hypothese und kommen so in einen Lernzyklus, generieren Insights von Nutzern und wenden es dann iterativ auf die Folge-Release an. Um eine Wirksamkeit aus Sicht der Nutzer zu messen, ist es wichtig mit Customer Journeys oder Job-Do-Be-Done zu arbeiten und diese messbar zu bekommen.

Impact analysis and resource allocation are (must be) fundamentally linked. The great thing about innovative solutions is that they can be applied in multiple situations to create value. However, truly understanding the potential impact of an initiative and being willing to say no to some opportunities will give you and your team the right to win in the most important spaces. Frequently, when you have done this many secondary opportunities will continue to grow based on your success in the primary market.

Yes, I agree that timely check points on project progress helps if we are going in the right direction. In general, scaling the product or features will definitely suppress something else in the company and it is up to the great team discussions with proper impact analysis with good input from the senior management team on a timely basis that can help you on track of scaling and also do justice to the product chosen for scaling and others which were left under resourced.

I find this to be more relevant in a larger company, where structure demands this type of analysis. Initial forecasts, including costs, change rapidly and thus solid checkpoints in your development timetable are needed to provide updates which support your next steps.

When scaling innovative products with conflicting priorities, impact analysis is crucial for making informed decisions. In my experience, understanding how each option affects both the business and customers is essential. In previous projects where I led the development of a new business unit, we carefully analyzed the impact of each decision on growth and customer satisfaction. This allowed us to prioritize initiatives that maximized value, ensuring our limited resources were used optimally to achieve strategic goals.

Here is where your product vision is really tested. As I said, management is your first customer, so when you "sell" your product you have to be ready to ask for what you need. Manpower, material and manufacturing costs need to clear, even though it is understood that at this stage, they are a "projection".

I will add that in addition to communicating the decision and the "why" behind it, it is critical that the owner actively sell and advocate for the decision. An organization that is unable to commit to a direction and frequently revisits decisions is robbing themselves of time and focus that could be applied to making the chosen direction successful. Decisions in modern organizations are complex, so there will always be reasons to consider an alternative. If you do this up front, are thorough with your analysis and assessment, and are clear with the communications then you will have the tools you need to evangelize the direction and ensure that you harness the full power of the organization .

Effective decision-making in the face of conflicting priorities involves more than just choosing between options; it’s about creating a decision-making framework that aligns with our strategic objectives. I encourage a ‘decision by design’ approach, where each decision is mapped out in terms of potential scenarios and outcomes. This structured method not only clarifies the rationale behind each choice but also prepares the team to pivot if necessary. Transparency is key—I’ve found that openly discussing the trade-offs and potential risks involved helps build trust and ensures that everyone is committed to the chosen path, even if it involves tough compromises.