At Retirable, our mission is to “guide today’s pre-retirees towards a worry-free retirement.” Alongside the company vision, a mission rallies a team around a clear purpose or North Star.
But defining your mission is not enough on its own.
Every day, we make small (and large!) decisions that shape our product. In prioritizing certain features over others or even in composing a great sentence of copywriting, the outcomes from these many daily decisions are what determine what our customers see and feel as they use our product. To some extent, the sum of these decisions is the product.
So how might we ensure that every product decision is one that steps us closer to our mission? How might we stay true to our values to guide every pre-retiree toward a better future?
At Retirable, we have four Product Principles (more on these later) that guide us through every decision we make. These principles give us a shared vocabulary and set the tone for our client’s experience when using our product. Having principles fosters alignment across our org and allows us to decentralize product decisions. If a decision fulfills each of our four principles, then by definition, it is the right decision.
If we consistently measure our performance against these four principles, we know that we’ll continue to make strong product bets that move us closer to achieving our mission.
Here’s a look at our Product Principles at Retirable:
👫 Talk like a human
Use simple, genuine, honest, and direct communication. Discussing finances can be stressful, don’t complicate it by trying to sound smart. Imagine you’re sitting down with the client at their kitchen table. “Be clear, compassionate, empathic, considerate, and talk like a human!”
🧚 Remain by their side
Finances, health, and lifestyles will change, behavior change can take time, and financial decision making is not a one-and-done process. Provide ongoing support and build trust by continuing to be available and valuable. “Be valuable at every step throughout a client’s retirement journey.”
🎓 Optimize for better advice, not for more sales
If we excel at reducing anxiety and promoting positive behavioral change, then revenue and sales will follow. Always act in a fiduciary manner — we have a legal and ethical responsibility to do what is in our client’s interest. “Trust is earned by giving the best advice.”
📚 A customer’s life journey is worth more than their assets
An independent retirement is more than just financial security. Running out of money pales in comparison to running out of family, friends, health, and time. “We want a holistic relationship.”
Product Principles are how we ensure that every part of our experience keeps us oriented towards achieving our mission. From the smallest piece of text to our most-impactful self-guided tool, if we design something that is in tension with one of these principles, then the outcome is clear: don’t build it and certainly don’t ship it.
What are the principles that govern how your team makes product decisions?
