As readers know, I write from time to time about why product teams spiral into strategic misalignment or get fixated on metrics over outcomes, but I think I’ve been missing one angle on why it’s so hard to change once you set a course: emotions. Listening to a podcast recently with a leadership coach, it dawned on me that so much “digging in” around strategy and metrics from execs and teams comes down to the inability to let go of a narrative they had constructed on when, how, and to what degree they would be successful.
I think this spiral is most painful for leaders who mistake their strategy decisions for goals and target decisions. Much investment happens in getting those desired outcomes defined, with much less effort in planning the inputs for HOW they'll get there.
Then, a huge effort goes into trying to manifest the outcome. When the outcome falls short, it's painful not only because there was so much invested in it, but because there was an unnecessary expenditure of effort in the failure due to lack of focus, and an underwhelming level of learning due to poor selection and tracking of inputs.
I think this spiral is most painful for leaders who mistake their strategy decisions for goals and target decisions. Much investment happens in getting those desired outcomes defined, with much less effort in planning the inputs for HOW they'll get there.
Then, a huge effort goes into trying to manifest the outcome. When the outcome falls short, it's painful not only because there was so much invested in it, but because there was an unnecessary expenditure of effort in the failure due to lack of focus, and an underwhelming level of learning due to poor selection and tracking of inputs.