Tech Thoughts

I was once balancing a cleaning mop so that it can stand on it’s own. And while doing so, I observed something about it. When I am trying to balance it it would just stand there for a second or two before falling down. A thought crossed my mind about inertia, and product development or maybe an organization in general. It went like this. 

There are 3 types of motion in this context. 

1.  Accelerating or Disrupting 
2.  Inertial 
3.  Stable. 

I put it in context to product development. 

1. Accelerating or Disrupting product development when accompanied with growth or moving towards growth is the best scenario. It keeps open a room for innovation and further development. Lot of things which one can feel genuinely excited about are happening in this stage. 

2. Inertial - Is a place in product development where lot of things have been done and it’s about to reach end of acceleration. That product is getting boring or stagnant. Or worse it’s just getting iterative updates. It’s like yellow signal. The present state is the product is moving forward on it’s previously gained momentum or one can say ‘basking on old glory’. It’s not or adding very little momentum to what it had already achieved. This state can really be delusional. In future, The product development can go anywhere, it is at a place where it can grow provided it get’s into accelerating phase or it may reach to dangerous 3rd phase 'Stable’. Unless worked upon and changed it’s just like the cleaning mop which I am trying to balance, ready to fall. So it’s like caution stage. Everything might be just starting to fall apart. 

3. 'Stable’ - The most dangerous stage. It’s like the product is like a sitting duck, ready to be shooted/hunted. Mostly products which are at this stage are already becoming obsolete.