Oct 11, 2024 4 min read Weekly Retro

[Weekly Retro] Stakeholders aren't your customers

#190 - Oct.2024

Happy Friday!

💡 Here is a quick idea before you head off to the weekend:

Stakeholders are not your customers.

One common mistake in product-led teams is treating end customers and stakeholders as the same.

When you start prioritizing based only on stakeholder feedback, you risk losing sight of the value for the people who actually use your solution.

Don’t rely on stakeholders as your only proxy for your customers.

Talk with the people who are directly using your product or service.

I bet they know more about the real pain points and opportunities. ;)

✉️ Post from this week

This week I wrote about techniques for handling conflicts in innovation. Learn how to manage resistance and turn challenges into opportunities to build stronger relationships:

🎧 Podcast I'm listening to

Swatches: The story of the Swatch is supper cool and one of the great retail successes.

🧪 Tool I'm testing

This week I tested WebSim. As the site describes, WebSim is "a powerful tool for simulating and exploring hypothetical web spaces". This tool really pushes the boundary of what's possible for online applications.

Through prompts, you can create functional applications in seconds. The fun part is iterating over the idea. WebSim allows you to play with dynamic content, responsive design, and futuristic interfaces. Your imagination is the limit! Give it a try.

🤔 Idea I've been reflecting on

With the rise of tools for builders to create applications in seconds through natural language, do you imagine a (near) future of "1-single-use or disposable digital applications"?

Think about this: you need an ad-hoc tool to solve a problem quickly at your job. You can create it and then discard it if it is not needed anymore. Do you want to invent a game to play with your kids on a weekend? You can create it and discard it if it is not engaging enough.

Creativity will be the leading force.