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Umesh Sachdev is CEO & cofounder of Uniphore, a large AI-native, multimodal enterprise-class SaaS company. He’s based in Palo Alto, CA.
Imagine a world where the iPad never existed because Apple simply based their product development solely on customer feedback rather than building products based on insights and intuition, which led to something customers could never have imagined they needed.
Steve Jobs was known for not directly listening to what customers asked for and instead intuiting what they needed. Rather than reacting to each individual request for “one more thing,” he created categories of enduring products that did thousands of things—tasks even he couldn’t imagine. This is the essence of the product mindset, an approach that transforms industries by creating significant value versus one-off solutions.
A product mindset is not just about creating and selling a specific item or application to meet a need; it’s a holistic approach to solving problems and delivering value at scale. In contrast, a service-led approach often focuses on addressing individual client needs on a case-by-case basis. While both models have their merits, a product mindset offers advantages with scalability, innovation and long-term value creation, all critical in the era of AI.
Pillars Of The Product Mindset: Insight, Discipline And Humility
A product mindset is grounded in three pillars: insight, discipline and humility. These principles form the backbone of successful product-led companies, driving innovation and long-term value creation.
1. Insight: The Foundation Of Innovation
At the heart of every successful product lies deep insight. This goes beyond simply understanding customer needs; it involves a comprehensive grasp of industry trends, market dynamics and emerging technologies. Product thinkers dedicate a significant portion of their time—often 30% to 40%, in my experience—to continuously scouting for new insights and opportunities.
This commitment to insight-gathering involves:
• Analyzing peer groups and similar industries to identify transferable solutions.
• Studying competitors and market analysts to spot trends and gaps.
• Exploring adjacent industries for innovative approaches that can be adapted.
• Reading reports and meeting with industry analysts for input on strategic opportunities.
A product mindset involves identifying underlying needs and future opportunities. As Steve Jobs famously said, “Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do.” This philosophy helped Apple hit the sweet spot for products like the iPad that used existing technology in unique, new ways.
2. Discipline And Rigor: The Power Of Saying “No”
One of the most counterintuitive aspects of the product mindset is the frequency with which leaders say “no” to their customers. This doesn’t mean rejecting all customer input, but as the technology expert, it is incumbent upon the product lead to guide customers to a solution that is ultimately more sustainable and manageable.
When we meet with customers, for example, we show them our enterprise AI roadmap. This allows them to understand where things are going and how their organization can benefit from an aggregate approach. This discipline is crucial for maintaining focus and ensuring resources are allocated to the most impactful initiatives.
Key aspects of discipline include:
• Maintaining a clear and focused product roadmap.
• Leveraging an aggregate approach.
• Prioritizing features and improvements that align with the product vision.
Many product managers find saying no to stakeholder requests to be one of their biggest challenges. However, the discipline to decline non-essential features or customizations is what allows product-led companies to create cohesive, scalable solutions that serve entire industries, along with individual clients.
3. Humility: Embracing Failure With Data-Driven Decision Making
The final pillar of the product mindset is perhaps the most challenging: humility. This involves the willingness to admit when a product or feature isn’t meeting expectations and the ability to pivot quickly based on real-world feedback.
Key aspects of this humble approach include:
• Implementing robust telemetry to gather real-time usage data.
• Analyzing user behavior to identify popular features and potential pain points.
• Being willing to fail fast and pivot when necessary.
At Uniphore, we hold our product leaders accountable for building telemetry into our solutions. This allows us to gather concrete data on how customers are using our products rather than relying solely on surveys or anecdotal feedback. As a result, we can make data-driven decisions about where to focus our innovation efforts.
This approach aligns with the principles of the lean startup methodology, which emphasizes the importance of validated learning and rapid iteration. According to a study by CB Insights, 42% of startups fail due to a lack of market need for their product. By embracing humility and data-driven decision making, product-led companies can significantly reduce this risk.
The Impact Of A Product Mindset
Adopting a product mindset can lead to significant benefits for both companies and their customers. This mindset leads to the following:
• Higher Scalability: By creating solutions that address industry-wide needs rather than individual client requests, product-led companies can grow more efficiently.
• Increased Innovation: The focus on insights and trends often leads to more groundbreaking solutions that push entire industries forward.
• Greater Long-Term Value: By continually investing in and improving core products, these companies create sustainable value for customers and shareholders alike.
Adopting a product mindset is not just a business strategy; it’s a catalyst for transformation. I liken it to making sure the foundation of a house is solid and structurally sound versus addressing cosmetic issues like cracks in the walls or stains on the carpets. Both are important in their own right, yet each benefits the house differently.
As enterprises navigate through the era of AI amid a rapidly changing business landscape, the ability to think and operate with a product mindset will become ever more valuable. By focusing on insight, rigor and humility, companies can position themselves to create innovative, scalable solutions that drive long-term success.
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