Shipping a Product is a Discipline
“The discipline of thrashing is to refuse to start work on the next step of the project until each item is approved, in writing. ‘Later,’ is not the way you ship.” –Seth Godin, Ship It
The best way to ship a product is to discuss every item of the project, make a decision, and then move forward. “Later” may not happen. People who ship products subject themselves to the decisions they (and others) have already made. They stick with their decisions unless their hand is forced. Don’t compromise, or go back, unless you have to do so. Most “have-tos” are knee-jerk reactions and actually aren’t necessary.
In old school project management, Seth’s method was described as: “Focus on project-critical tasks: the tasks that other things depend upon.” In other words, move the road blocks first.
What methods do you use to move road blocks? How do you move towards ship day, and then ship?
Note: Ship It is an affiliate link. I’ve been using it as a resource for a project I’m working on—I highly recommend it.
a team helps move products toward completion.
True. A team united around one vision, idea and ship date can make amazing things happen.