One nice, cheeky quirk of Google is the ability to write one’s own epitaph upon departing, slapping a few words of sometimes salty wisdom on the out door. My former colleague Hodie Meyers bugged out just ahead of me & dropped a sarcastic fistful of Despair.com-worthy gems:
- Do things because they are possible
- Do many things at once and try to spread yourself thin
- Build the complete system before evaluating the idea. Call it MVP anyways
- Never let client feedback or user research distract you from your intuition
- And remember: It’s always more important that you launch something than that you create true value for your users and customers
Ouch!!! I participated in quite a few software/systems projects in my career and each of those hit home, unfortunately. I had a manager or two who represented #4, insisting that we knew more than the clients and they should be grateful for our expertise (the real developers knew better—and usually did know more about the client’s job than the clients, but seldom let that knowledge interfere with doing the job the clients wanted.). In some cases, the real developers had some convincing to do with the clients that we understood what they needed—usually process improvements rather than implementing the current inefficient processes (duh!), which was an uphill battle. I knew people who had to develop both processes after the clients realized the error of their ways . Enjoy!
I’d heard rumors Google rewards launching new products more than improving established ones; this confirms it?
It’s crazy when a company merits not just one but two web sites chronicling abandoned products.
It’s actually kind of encouraging to see this happens at le google too
Yep—no one gets out alive. —J.