Today, I am musing on how collaboration shapes the impact of your work.

Here's my hypothesis: How a team interacts throughout the phases of work contributes to how impactful a solution is.

Now, let's explore why.

Aim for the Venn.

Let's start by saying that we aren't aiming to build features. If we can solve our customer's problems in a way that doesn't require building anything, then let's do that. We aim to help our customers accomplish their jobs in a way that is good for them and us.

Let me riff off of Marty Cagan's work here.

You know I love a Venn! While commonly presented as the four product development risks, they are also the key aims of the product development process. We are aiming for products and features that are viable, desirable, usable, and feasible.

If anything gets out of balance, we end up with a sub-optimal solution.

Sub-optimising can happen when one discipline carries too much influence or power. The idea behind trios or cross-functional leadership (product, design, engineering) is that there is a balance of concerns and thinking (to avoid sub-optimising).

Compromise is commonplace in product development. The trick is deciding where and when. Teams that pay attention to the good enough line ensure we stay within the Venn. When one discipline is convinced it's not good enough, we find a new way forward.

If members of the team struggle to have difficult conversations, then solutions will likely get out of balance (stay safe by staying quiet) and result in a sub-optimal impact. Your discussions contribute to the overall effect of your work.

The writers of the Agile Manifesto responded to the tendency to sub-optimise and put the highest priority on satisfying the customer. If you can't satisfy the customer, don't bother building it.

We need to collectively share the work of finding satisfying solutions, solutions that are good for business, customers, and us. How you work together will largely shape this.

If someone blocks the process and says it's not good enough but doesn't contribute to finding a way forward, this will likely lead to sub-optimal results, as others won't necessarily see how to satisfy your concerns. We must collectively call out problems and look for ways to make things work.

How we interact contributes to the solution's impact.

Let's look at a couple of key interactions that shape impact.

Crank up the volume.

Let me be clear: I am not saying this is easy or the only factor. And you might be wondering, "What helps?" In my observations, the teams that develop impactful solutions are good at developing numerous ideas; they are pathfinders. They go wide and push what they think is possible. They scout out different ways.

When people talk about designing solutions, they commonly use diamonds to visualise the process. They show the idea phase as an expansive process and the evaluating phase as a narrowing. Teams that find a way to balance concerns are good at going wide before they narrow.