Surviving that insufferable button
Adrenaline coursing through my veins. Passions rising sharply. Digging in for the battle ahead. “How could you possibly think that button should go there?!! It’s just not intuitive!”
As entrepreneurs and early start-up employees, we have all taken a substantial risk of some sort. At times, the success or failure of our companies & products can feel less like external facets of our long and varied lives, and more like proxies for our immediate survival. The eons of experience expressed in our genes ensure that we rationally fear the prospect of being lead down the wrong path—a bad turn on a mountain pass during the winter could have easily meant the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, the wrong tactical placement of a homepage button can trigger a similar physiological response.
At the early stages of my current venture, I fought tooth and nail for my own intuitions surrounding product decisions. I subconsciously felt as if each decision, small or large, would make or break our company, and at a more base level, would make or break me. Only after careful inspection did I come to the following realizations: (1) my body was overreacting to the real consequences of minor product decisions; (2) my ability to collaborate effectively was suffering as a result; and (3) most of us are burdened with the same maladaptive tendencies.
On my path towards changing this response pattern, I found it helpful to ask myself the following questions:
- “Is it true that my intuitions are more likely to be right than those of the other very smart people on my team?”
- On a case-by-case basis, “what are the consequences of following through with the proposed solution?”
Not surprisingly, the answer to the first question was a resounding “no.” My teammates and founders were at least as smart, conscientious, and thoughtful as I am—that’s why I chose to work with them in the first place. The moment I consciously recognized that fact I felt a tremendous sense of relief: it’s not all on me! There is no force which better calms our survival instincts than knowing that you can trust your team to make great decisions.
With regard to the real consequences of small product decisions: let’s be honest, 95% of the time a single choice isn’t going to move the needle one way or the other, and—at least with web products—you can always change it later.
Recognizing these facts in a conscious way can help us to interrupt the survival instinct where and when it is surfaced inappropriately. If a company is going to succeed or fail, it is not going to be because of a misplaced button.
P.S. The misplaced button is merely a fictional character in this story, our button placement is actually pretty awesome ;)
