Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Software Management

Risky Business

23 Jan 2002

Over at Cooper Interaction Design, Wayne Greenwood wrote a piece called "The high risk of low-risk behavior" in which he argues that, in software, innovation and taking risks is always better than doing things the way others do.

His reasoning generally makes sense, but I disagree with his point about copycats. It is not always the best idea to create features if your competition can easily copy them.

In the 1990’s Duracell started putting disposable testers in battery packages. Eveready responded by placing testers on the batteries themselves. Duracell quickly copied that innovation and included testers on their batteries.

The fact that both companies include this feature has eliminated the competitive advantage it was supposed to have created. Now each company has additional R&D, production, and marketing costs associated with a feature that provides no advantage over the competition. Prices couldn’t be raised; consumers wouldn’t pay more for this feature. So the end result of this innovation was that both Duracell and Eveready saw profit margins fall.

It is always important to consider the reaction of your competition when planning any change in strategy. "Move fast so you will always be first" is a very dangerous way to play the game.

Recently Written

Your OKR Cascade is Breaking Your Strategy
Aug 1: Most companies cascade OKRs down their org chart thinking it creates alignment. Instead, it fragments strategy and marginalizes supporting teams. Here's what works better than the waterfall approach.
Your Prioritization Problem Is a Strategy Problem
Jul 23: Most teams struggle with prioritization because they're trying to optimize for everything at once. The real problem isn't having too many options—it's not having a clear strategy to choose between them. Without strategy, every decision feels equally important. With strategy, most decisions become obvious.
Behind schedule
Jul 21: Your team is 6 weeks late and still missing features. The solution isn't working harder—it's accepting that your deadlines were fake all along. Ship what you have. Cut ruthlessly. Stop letting "one more day" turn into one more month.
VC’s Future Lies In Building Winners
Jun 21: AI and megafunds are about to kill the traditional venture model, forcing smaller VCs to stop hunting for hidden gems and start rolling up their sleeves to fix broken companies instead.
Should individual people have OKRs?
May 14: A good OKR describes and measures an outcome, but it can be challenging to create an outcome-focused OKR for an individual.
10 OKR traps and how to avoid them
May 8: I’ve helped lots of teams implement OKRs or fix a broken OKR process. Here are the 10 most common problems I see, and what to do instead.
AI is Smart, But Wisdom Requires Judgement
May 3: AI can process data at lightning speed, but wisdom comes from human judgment—picking the best imperfect option when facts alone don’t point the way.
Decoding Product Leadership Titles
Mar 18: Not all product leadership titles mean what they sound like. ‘Head of Product’ can mean anything from a senior PM to a true VP. Here’s how to tell the difference.

Older...

What I'm Reading