🔥 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 - 𝗯𝘂𝘁

🔥 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 - 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.

That’s my observation from years of product conversations, not a survey — but I bet you recognize it.

🚶 When I walked through Barcelona last week, I spotted something that made me stop dead in my tracks…

𝗔 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁-𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲.

💡 Here’s what blew my mind: Instead of just slapping metal plates on doors to prevent kick damage (the lazy solution), someone — by all appearances — designed for the real behavior.

They turned “unintended usage” into a feature.

🚀 This is exactly the failure mode I keep seeing in companies: • We design products for imaginary customers in conference rooms • We add band-aids instead of solving root problems • We launch first, then wonder why adoption sucks

At Amazon, we use the “𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿”-mechanism [1] to ensure we’re solving real problems from day one.

🔑 The key insight? When we actively listen to customers throughout the design process, we build products with a far better shot at actually serving their needs.

Many AWS services go through preview phases to gather customer feedback and shape the final product before general availability. It’s a simple approach — feedback arrives while the product can still change.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? 🤔

[1] Andy Jassy explains the Leadership Principle “Customer Obsession” and in this context the “Working Backwards”-mechanism - 5min well invested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADUfddD6Ivs

#AWSomeVoices #LeadershipPrinciples #WorkingBackwards #Barcelona