Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lecturer
Electrical Engineering
353 Serra Mall, Gates 279
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305- 9025
David Obershaw
EE292i Insanely Great Products: How do they get built?
June 2, 2014
email: david@obershaw.com
Final Discussion Session Handout Materials
Below please find my summary notes on common attributes Ive seen in great
product companies, as well as individual attributes that will serve you well in
your career. Ive also included some information on what works best for
startups as those organizational development challenges are for more
complex with little margin for error.
Please share with me any thoughts any of you have on this material its
definitely a work in process.
3. Strategic
a. Great product organizations can only become great by through
exceptional discipline and focus. Deciding what NOT to do is
critical, and focusing ones scarce resources on opportunities that
are winnable for the organization is fundamental.
b. More startups die of indigestion than starvation.
4. Obsessed with advancing the state of the art
a. These groups are focused on building not just great products but
extraordinary products
b. The culture embraces this philosophy so completely that it makes
it painful to ever ship a product that doesnt meet our
standards
i. I experienced this during my time at HP in the 80s
c. These teams dont come to place, they come to build
something extraordinary
d. Note that extraordinary is often dominating in delivering a
great product or service at a very competitive price
i. In the US, think Southwest Airlines
5. Respect For teammates, customers, partners, and competitors
a. Individuals are empowered to do their jobs
6. A higher calling Mission
a. Companies that lead over the long-term, most often are on a
mission way beyond making money its improving the quality of
peoples lives or some other compelling goal
b. This higher calling results in people going above and beyond the
call of duty to deliver on the mission
7. Disciplined
a. This minimizes waste, and ensures everyone is efficiently
pursuing the goal
Individual Attributes
1. Passion for hard work disciplined with a continuous improvement
mindset
2. Positive attitude
a. Willingness to do what it takes for the team/organization to
prevail
3. Creativity
a. Always looking for a better way to get something done, and the
flexibility to adjust to new information
b. Leadership in any product area always involves a great deal of
creativity across the organization
4. Intelligent/ Quick
a. Need to bring something to the table that adds value
b. At its best, not book-smarts but ability to get the right things
done right smarts
5. Ability to collaborate
a. Respect others opinions and ability to synthesize divergent views
6. Honest with yourself and others if youll deal with reality, youre
five steps ahead of most people
7. Obsession with being the best you can possibly be
a. Manifests itself in your obsession with making the product, our
service, branding, the sales process whatever it might be, better
8. Commitment To the mission and to your team
a. Willingness to do what it takes, and help your teammates along
the way
6. Aggressiveness
a. Seize opportunities, exaggerate strengths
b. Need to be larger than life even when youre five people in a
garage
7. A strategy that brilliantly balances an opportunity with the technological
and business assets of the company
a. Doesnt have to be perfect or complete in most cases
b. Huge advantage over existing players their products often have
to be complete, and work for many geographic and commercial
market segments on day 1 you can target a micro-niche market
and build from there
8. Great leadership
a. A Doable Strategy
b. Setting achievable but very challenging objectives
c. Holding the team accountable
d. Knowing when to say NO and NO and NO
i. More startups die of indigestion than starvation! True for
larger companies as well
ii. Look how Apple built the worlds most valuable company
on a very small product line? Great products, brilliantly
marketed, yield extraordinary profits
e. Flexibility when you need to course correct
f. Ability to recruit the best people and eliminate those who arent
a good fit quickly!
g. Keeping the team focused and inspired for the mission
h. Willingness to adjust based on team insight
i. This is a big one!
ii. Can your people tell Truth to Power ?
iii. A very fine line between a leader with dogged vision and
determination and one thats delusional
9. Great salesmanship
Phone: 650-888-8905 E-mail: david@obershaw.com