Check your Pulse #63: 15 Ideas That Will Shape Your View Of Building Products

Check your Pulse 63: 15 Ideas That Will Shape Your View Of Building Products

In a world where information is abundant, the need to organize trustworthy information becomes crucial. The focus should shift from simply organizing information to curating it in a way that builds trust. Monetization through ads often leads to ethically questionable design choices, which creates a trust gap. To bridge this gap, we need to prioritize curators over algorithms. However, the conversation around curation has been too content-centric, neglecting the importance of structuring the information.

Searchable, human-curated interfaces can help us move away from time-bound feeds and into contextual, high-signal, trustworthy knowledge spaces. But how do we shape our view of building products to achieve this? Here are 15 ideas that can guide us:

1. Understand the "why": Instead of focusing solely on what you do, consider why you do it. People don't buy products; they buy into the purpose behind them. Identify the narrow set of features or customers that drive the majority of impact on your business and focus on improving that functionality to delight those users.

2. Test and use your own products: To truly empathize with your customers, you need to experience your products firsthand. Use them regularly to identify areas of improvement and opportunity.

3. Velocity towards strategy: In product development, velocity is crucial. Aim to move towards your strategy by prioritizing tasks and projects that contribute to it. Say no to those that don't align with your overall goals.

4. Careful decision-making: Irreversible decisions should be made with caution. Gather extensive information before reaching a conclusion to avoid potential regrets.

5. Overcoming option paralysis: Too many options can overwhelm people, leading to indecision and less satisfaction. Simplify choices to improve the user experience.

6. Doing things that don't scale: Manual work may seem inefficient, but it often leads to faster learning. By immersing yourself in the work and manually solving problems, you gain a deeper understanding of your customers and uncover hidden opportunities.

7. Product positioning and selling: To effectively position and sell your product, identify the real pain point it solves. Understand who experiences the problem and what triggers it. This knowledge will help you tailor your messaging and target the right audience.

8. Bottleneck identification: Identify the bottleneck that hinders your product's performance and work towards reducing or eliminating it. Doing so can significantly improve throughput.

As we consider these ideas, it becomes clear that building products is not just about features and functionalities. It's about understanding the user's real pain points and the triggers that drive their need for a solution. By focusing on these key elements, we can create products that truly resonate with our target audience.

In conclusion, to shape our view of building products, we must prioritize trust and curation. By incorporating human-curated interfaces and implementing the ideas mentioned above, we can create contextual, high-signal, trustworthy knowledge spaces. These spaces will not only provide valuable information but also foster a sense of trust among users. So, let's embrace curation and build products that make a difference.

Actionable advice:

1. Identify the real pain point your product solves and focus on improving that functionality to delight users.
2. Test and use your own products regularly to empathize with your customers and identify areas of improvement.
3. Prioritize tasks and projects that align with your overall strategy, saying no to those that don't contribute to your goals.