The Product

Abstract

Mark Zuckerberg is a product genius. He has an innate ability to understand what type of product users will love. Critical to Zuckerberg’s success in product development has been his understanding that his product—Facebook—must be aligned with his company’s mission of openness and sharing. Zuckerberg describes his company’s approach to product development best when he says: “We have found that products that are ‘social by design’ tend to be more engaging than their traditional counterparts, and we look forward to seeing more of the world’s products move in this direction.”¹ However, Zuckerberg’s imperative to create a social product that promotes openness and sharing may not necessarily fit the mission and ideals of your company. So how do you create a product that squares with your company’s mission and yet resonates with your end users? In this chapter, we take a look at the many inputs you can rely on to help you do just that.

Some men see things as they are and say, “Why?” I dream of things that never were and say, “Why not?” —Robert Kennedy