Product Thinking: Why It Matters

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, having a clear understanding of product thinking is essential for any organization that wants to succeed. Product thinking is a mindset that focuses on understanding motivations, conceiving solutions, simulating effects, and picking a path based on the effect you want to create. In contrast, project thinking is about understanding expectations, formulating plans, marshaling resources, and coordinating actions to meet expectations. While project thinking is essential in organizations to get things done, product thinking is about creating the right things for your customers.

To better understand the difference between the two, imagine two people in a room, one focused on the project timeline, and the other focused on the product’s user experience. They might end up confused and frustrated with each other as their targets are not being reached. A project thinker asks questions such as when, who, what else, and how, while a product thinker is focused on why are we doing this, why is it important, what are our goals, what else could happen, and how will we differentiate.

There are three levels of product work in every organization: Impact, Execution, and Optic. When you are thinking at the Impact level, that’s Product thinking. When you are thinking at the Execution level, that’s project thinking. And when you are thinking at the Optic level, that’s political thinking.

To succeed, an organization needs both product thinking and project thinking. Product thinking helps the organization understand the impact of its choices on the customer experience, brand, and long-term goals, while project thinking helps the organization execute on those choices. Product thinking is crucial for organizations that want to create exponential growth and beat the market. It requires a disciplined approach that prioritizes action, iterating from product thinking to project thinking and back again.

However, many organizations become too project-thinking-biased over time and lose sight of the importance of product thinking. To adopt product thinking in your organization, the first step is to suspend the project thinking mindset. Then, prioritize your real goals, ask “why” and “so what” often, and be intentional about the effect you want to create for your users.

Product thinking operates at the level of batting principles, while product sense operates at the level of individual shots that you can make. To learn product thinking, you and your team must practice and prioritize it regularly.

Product thinking is a vital discipline for any organization that wants to create long-term growth and customer loyalty. By understanding the motivations, needs, and desires of your customers, and focusing on creating value for them, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and build a sustainable business. Remember, if a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable. So, start thinking about your product today and set sail towards a successful future

Special thanks to Shreyas Doshi for the product sense workshop session on Cred