{"id":100204,"date":"2023-04-18T15:50:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T19:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=100204"},"modified":"2023-04-24T12:56:57","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T16:56:57","slug":"product-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/product-evolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Evolution Lessons From the Co-Creator of the iPhone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>At what point does <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/market-disruptions\/\">market disruption<\/a> go too far? How should you time the second generation of your product? When should your focus shift to profit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Apple, Tony Fadell built several generations of the iPod and the iPhone. Now he shares his advice about product evolution in his book <em>Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to learn how to release and subsequently evolve a product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-product-evolution\">Product Evolution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fadell asserts that what you focus on in each release will depend on which product generation you\u2019re working on. He details his recommendations regarding product evolution through the first three generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-first-generation\">The First Generation&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Fadell asserts that your first-generation product must be \u201cdisruptive\u201d\u2014it must represent some sort of fundamental shift in how people normally do things. You may need to disrupt multiple elements of the customer experience; Nest disrupted both the thermostat (by making it smart) and how it was sold (by selling it directly to consumers). But don\u2019t disrupt so many elements that your product isn&#8217;t immediately understandable. For example, the Segway, which was meant to disrupt transportation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/adamhartung\/2015\/02\/12\/the-reason-why-google-glass-amazon-firephone-and-segway-all-failed\/?sh=553ce751c05c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failed in part because people didn&#8217;t understand how to use it<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Fadell\u2019s definition of disruptive product aligns with that of <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/crossing-the-chasm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Crossing the Chasm<\/em><\/a> author Geoffrey Moore, who contends that such a product requires the customer to change how she uses a product in order to adopt it. In contrast, <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-innovator-s-dilemma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Innovator\u2019s Dilemma<\/em><\/a> author Christensen suggests that a <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-innovator-s-dilemma#disruptive-versus-sustaining-innovations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disruptive product disrupts the <em>market<\/em><\/a>; it initially appeals only to a certain niche but gains mainstream appeal as it evolves and grows more refined. However, Christensen does agree with Fadell that <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-innovator-s-dilemma#problems-that-disruptive-innovations-cause-for-established-companies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disruptive products often require retooling of other processes<\/a> (like sales channels), which is why established companies often ignore them: Retooling their operations is too expensive.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To create a disruptive product, Fadell recommends that you work within clear limitations. Keep your team and budget small; the larger these become, the more likely you\u2019ll waste time and money building unnecessary features. Additionally, set a clear timeline: It should take between nine and 18 months to ship your first product. To stick to that, create several internal deadlines. Each team should have recurring deadlines to ensure that they\u2019re producing what they need to; there should also be regular project updates to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Finally, set a deadline for completing the product. If, when you reach that point, your product does almost everything you wrote in your press release, it\u2019s ready to launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: It will likely take much longer than you expect to ship your first product, as <a href=\"https:\/\/thedecisionlab.com\/biases\/planning-fallacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">humans are subject to the planning fallacy<\/a>: We consistently overestimate how long it will take us to finish a project <em>despite<\/em> having clear evidence to the contrary. Creating several internal deadlines can help mitigate this fallacy, as we tend to be better at estimating how long it will take to finish short-term projects than long-term projects. Alternatively, set your deadline <em>later<\/em> than you think you need; <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-that-frog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Eat That Frog!<\/em><\/a> author Brian Tracy recommends <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-that-frog\/chapter-4#deadlines-and-the-law-of-forced-efficiency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pushing it back by 20%<\/a>. Setting a realistic deadline may help you <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/big-magic\/chapter-5#be-realistic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">combat the perfectionism that prevents you from releasing a product that\u2019s mostly ready<\/a>, agrees <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/big-magic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Big Magic<\/em><\/a> author Elizabeth Gilbert.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your launch fails, figure out <em>why<\/em>. Examine the data to determine whether your intuition was flawed or if something external harmed your launch. Once you know <em>why<\/em> it failed, apply these lessons to your next launch\u2014whether it\u2019s a new version of this product or a new project entirely.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Keeping your team and budget small may also make potential failures easier to tolerate. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/creativity-inc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Creativity, Inc<\/em>.<\/a>, Ed Catmull suggests that failure is often hard to accept because we don\u2019t want all the resources we put into the project to go to waste; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/creativity-inc\/part-3#separating-fear-from-failure\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">innovating in low-stakes environments that use fewer resources<\/a> can circumvent this issue.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-second-generation\">The Second Generation&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When creating your second-generation product, <em>don\u2019t <\/em>focus on disruption. Instead, improve upon the first generation without drastically changing the features that your customers have grown accustomed to. Now that you have real data from actual customers, making these improvements will rely more on this data than your opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Other experts add something else you shouldn\u2019t change when updating your first-generation product: the name. Research suggests that if <a href=\"https:\/\/hbswk.hbs.edu\/item\/how-to-brand-a-next-generation-product\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">you <em>change<\/em> the name, your customers will expect drastically different features<\/a> and may be turned off from using the product. To find out what you <em>should<\/em> change, <a href=\"https:\/\/online.hbs.edu\/blog\/post\/data-driven-decision-making\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pay attention to any patterns<\/a> you see in the data; understanding these patterns will help you make more informed decisions.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, consider the timing. Fadell recommends that you release updates to your products on a predictable schedule; that way, your customers will know when to expect new products, and your team will have clear deadlines to work toward. He recommends releasing one to three smaller updates and one large launch each year.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Some experts suggest that you should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getbeamer.com\/blog\/saas-release-notes-cadence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change how often you release product updates depending on what stage your company is in<\/a>. If your company is still growing, release product updates as soon as they\u2019re ready to help build excitement. If your company is more established, create a release schedule, which allows developers to prioritize the most important fixes and builds customer anticipation ahead of the expected release dates. But be careful if you want to do <em>more<\/em> than three smaller updates and a large launch each year; if you update your product <em>too<\/em> often, your customers will start to ignore the news.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-third-generation\">The Third Generation&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>By the third-generation product launch, focus on making money. Fadell states that your first-generation product likely won\u2019t make you money, as most customers are generally wary of new technology. Your second-generation product should allow you to recoup your investments; by this point, you should have fixed the issues in the first generation and made a better product that works well for your customers. The third-generation product is when you focus on profitability so that you can keep the business going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: While Fadell suggests that you can wait until the third generation to grow profitable, in <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/crossing-the-chasm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Crossing the Chasm<\/em><\/a> (which Fadell cites in his discussion of product generations), Moore warns that if your company runs on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-does-venture-capital-work\/\">venture capital<\/a> (and not its own profits), you risk developing a \u201cwelfare state mentality\u201d and losing your sense of focus and urgency. Instead, Moore advises that you <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/crossing-the-chasm\/conclusion#financial-structure\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">become self-sustaining on profits as soon as possible<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At what point does market disruption go too far? How should you time the second generation of your product? When should your focus shift to profit? At Apple, Tony Fadell built several generations of the iPod and the iPhone. Now he shares his advice about product evolution in his book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making. Keep reading to learn how to release and subsequently evolve a product.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":70921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,79],"tags":[991],"class_list":["post-100204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-entrepreneurship","tag-build","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Product Evolution Lessons From the Co-Creator of the iPhone - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tony Fadell built several iPhone and iPod generations. 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