Читать книгу EMPOWERED - Marty Cagan - Страница 12

There is a fundamental difference between how strong companies view the role and purpose of technology as compared to most other companies.

At its most basic level, the vast majority of companies view technology as a necessary expense. They know it's important, but they think of it more as a cost of doing business. If they can outsource the labor, even better. Fundamentally, they don't really consider themselves in the technology business. Instead, they think of themselves as in the insurance business, or the banking business, or the transportation business, or whatever. Certainly, they need some technology to operate, but it's viewed as a subservient role to “the business.”

Because of that, in most companies, technology teams exist to serve the business. That is very often the exact phrase you will hear. But even if they aren't explicit about it, the different parts of “the business” end up driving what is actually built by the product teams.

In contrast, in strong product companies, technology is not an expense, it is the business. Technology enables and powers the products and services we provide to our customers. Technology allows us to solve problems for our customers in ways that are just now possible.

Whether the product or service is an insurance policy, a bank account, or an overnight parcel delivery, that product now has enabling technology at its core.

As such, in strong product companies, the purpose of the product team is to serve customers by creating products customers love, yet work for the business.

That is a profound difference, which impacts nearly everything about the company and how it works, and results in much higher motivation and morale. And most important, it results in a much higher level of innovation and value for customers and the business.