Courtesy of Daryl’s blog, I’ve stumbled across the Tesla electric sports car, and it’s now the car that I want (now if only I had that darn license…). Wow!
Which brings me to another topic - Wow versus Good Enough. This is something I spotted over at Uncommon Sense for Software. I do agree with Craig. A product CANNOT be just good enough. Just CANNOT.
I (and I suspect most customers) am not impressed by most of the stuff that’s currently out there. And something like an electric car that beats a petrol sports car doesn’t come by very often. Even the iPod took a while to grow on people.
Wow requires the 1% inspiration (the RIGHT inspiration) followed by the 99% perspiration, but both are equally important. One can’t go with the other methinks. To compound that, a management guru type said, geniuses are all heretics, but heretics are rarely geniuses.
For the rest of us plebeians, life has to go on, and we have to go on impressing, and ship not good enough, but MORE than good enough products out the door. Therein lies the crunch - Betting on how much more good enough will tip the scales is the make or break.
My creed: Look for WOW, aim for WOW, dream of WOW, work for the WOW, but don’t starve to death. Same principle applies to the other WOW (World of Warcraft) come to think of it…
Just another random musing.
The huge problem with getting the WOW factor is that most people lose focus when it comes to the actual development of their product.
Its easy to be excited when you first come up with that killer idea, and all the features and the money that you will make from selling/ launching the product. But when it comes down to it, product development is 20% conceptualization and 80% execution.
And very often, our products morph into something very different that what we thought it would be in the first place.
Take Thomas Edison for example, when he created the phonograph, he suggested its use for secretarial dictation and other such purposes such as phonographic books that will speak to the blind. He never envisioned that his invention would spawn and revolutionize the music/ recording business.
And when it comes down to project/ product execution, every last detail counts. The difference between a good product and a GREAT/ WOW product is that extra 10%. (sounds cliche I know…but I believe it true!)
Left by mingyou on December 8th, 2006
Thanks for the comment dude. What you say is also very very true. That’s why it’s so difficult to get that WOW factor and it takes a pretty rare breed to do that.
10% is all it takes to make the difference between good to great. An X factor (and I’m not smart enough to identify it every single time!) brings it to the WOW.
And as you rightly said, Edison didn’t see it coming. It’s hard, but it’s something worth working hard as heck for
.
Well anyways, I’m just nitpicking hehe.
Left by pallid on December 8th, 2006
Success is getting a lot of little things right, if i might add on to mingyou’s comment on “every last detail counts”.
Left by Bjorn on February 2nd, 2007
Hi all!
http://antergerd.com
Excellent site with fantastic references and reading…. well done indeed…!
Congratulations!
Left by Broortmope on March 19th, 2008