It feels like product has too often become too in love with its own propaganda. As in danger of feeling cult-like as the worst excesses of Agile.
OKRs are one of the big faultlines for me. While I don’t intrinsically think they are a bad thing – and there is definitely evidence they have been successful and useful places – I just don’t believe the juice is worth the squeeze in the vast majority of cases…and definitely not in the corners of the sectors I operate in. Too often though they are implemented regardless of the context or the consequences. If all you have are Objectives everything looks like a Key Result maybe.
I’m enjoying a lot of what Matt Dukes is writing at the moment. He has an open honesty to his style that I really respect and I wish I could get a bit closer to myself.
His post confirms some of my own thoughts about product management, OKRs and agile at the moment, which dovetail nicely with my decision to bring Ritual by Dimitris Xygalatas to the top of my current reading list.
Basically, I feel that a lot of behaviours in the design industry right now have become more unquestionably ritualistic and inherited than based in logic, or undertaken with clear outcomes in mind.
Like there’s a lot of eagerness and excitement about digging deep into silos, specialities and popular topics, but less interest in making things happen. Less interest in pulling together and getting things done.
Matt also puts this in a way I agree with as a remedy:
…the path to making the most effective contribution possible is that of the path of the generalist. Breadth not depth. Empathy for many professions more than narrow expertise in one.
It’s a responsibility that goes beyond product people though in my opinion. Which brings me again to simply want to keep asking everyone ‘what do you think you’re doing?’
Mathew Wilson – Documenteering 