That's Funny...

Here’s a great quote that’s usually attributed to Isaac Asimov, the 20th C. American scientist, science fiction writer, and futurist:

Whether Asimov actually wrote or said this is the subject of some debate. But the core idea is a powerful reminder—not just for scientists, but for product teams, too.

We product pros are, as much as anything, in the discovery business. But discovery is collaborative and incremental. We first find the problems that we are uniquely equipped to solve for our market. Then, through experimentation, prototyping, and analysis, we uncover solutions to those problems that our market will reward us for. We do this all through a process of exploration in collaboration—with designers, engineers, and other teammates working side-by-side, using their unique skills to find and then deliver the solution to our users’ problems.

People less familiar with product work might imagine that product discovery comes as a flash of great insight, like Archimedes making his legendary leap from his legendary bath and shouting “Eureka!” when he discovered the principles of buoyancy and displacement.

But I’ve worked in product for nearly twenty years, in roles from product manager to VP of product to product coach and consultant, and I can’t recall ever experiencing such a Eureka moment. I’m quite sure I have never streaked out of a bathtub in celebration of a breakthrough. But I have had countless experiences of noticing, with my teammates, unexpected behaviors or opportunities that inspire new product work. These are the That’s funny… moments that Asimov describes.

And I love how the Asimov quote usually is expressed with trailing ellipses: it’s “That’s funny…” and not merely “That’s funny.” With those ellipses, That’s funny… does not end; it leads to something else. I see product work in those ellipses.

For example, check out how these statements can lead to new insights, new solutions, and better products and businesses:

• That’s funny…our onboarding screen for new users is confusing to our veteran users.

• That’s funny…users are searching for “delete account,” but we don’t offer that feature.

• That’s funny…we shipped that improvement and no one noticed.

• That’s funny…B2B customers want to see prices before they add options, not after.

Observation and responses to those observations are skills your product team can sharpen. A fun exercise for a cross-functional product team: write some That’s funny… statements about your own product or your own users. A team can do this in a quick thirty-minute exercise with a whiteboard, a pack of post-it notes, some user insights (interview transcripts, support tickets), and some imagination. As you collect your That’s funny… statements, ask yourself: What’s surprising? What’s underexplored? Where could these ellipses lead?

On to the Garden,

Around the Garden

We achieved PMF! But what is it?

Check it out: “What Startups Get Wrong About Product-Market Fit” from Close.com’s “0 to $30 Million Blueprint” podcast series

Close.com is a successful modern CRM product and business. They do something we admire here at the Hive: they openly share insights from their product journey with their customers and the broader product and business community. In this article, podcast, and video, Close’s CEO and founder, Steli Efti, is interviewed by Desiree Echevarria on a topic of interest to any product team: reaching Product-Market Fit.

Product-Market Fit, or PMF, is that elusive but essential milestone that indicates a business has found—or discovered—the product that meets its market. Product thinkers have written and chattered extensively about the characteristics of PMF.

The conversation between Efti and Echevarria is among the more insightful discussions of this topic that we’ve encountered. Efti explains that PMF is evident when there's more demand than the startup can handle:

Efti also cautions against mistaking early traction for PMF, noting that temporary sales boosts can be misleading. True PMF involves sustained customer retention and enthusiasm, where the product becomes integral to the customer's own processes, rhythms, and operations.

Internal Medicine

Check it out: Product Strategy for Internal Products, by Kent McDonald, Inside Product

A company’s product leaders—rightly—prioritize customer-facing products when developing product strategy. Here Kent McDonald of Inside Product addresses a common oversight in many organizations: the lack of a defined product strategy for internal tools and systems. Teams working on these internal products, like HR platforms, finance systems, or internal dashboards, frequently operate without this clarity, leading to misaligned efforts and suboptimal outcomes.

McDonald suggests that internal products deserve strategic love, too. I like how he describes a clear product strategy’s value as a decision-making filter that enables prioritization. Internal teams will operate more effectively with this filter in place. And internal products have a way of becoming customer-facing experiences.

For organizations aiming to improve their internal systems, McDonald's article serves as a valuable reminder: internal products are not just operational necessities but strategic assets. Applying thoughtful product strategy to these tools can lead to more efficient operations, better user experiences, and ultimately, a more agile and responsive organization.

Merholz on Design Leadership

Check it out: Design Leadership & Org Design (feat. Peter Merholz). Nielsen-Norman Group UX podcast episode. Recommended by Jared Johnson, SDG UX strategy consultant

Jared Johnson, SDG Design Strategy Consultant, offered the following summary and analysis of this Nielsen-Norman Group podcast episode, featuring Peter Merholz.

This volley of ideas between Therese Fessenden and well-known design leader Peter Merholz is a great listen for any team looking to deepen their understanding of user needs and improve how they deliver digital products. From scaling research functions and mapping service blueprints to creating emotion-invoking experiences, the energetic conversation with a deeply experienced leader like Merholz highlights how organizations can intentionally inform the next iteration of a solution.

Merholz emphasizes the importance of intentional product leadership—structuring teams with care to balance speed, quality, and cost. His distinction between “UX” and “design” is both sharp and reassuring. UX, he argues, is the responsibility of everyone involved in product development and even across the greater company. Design, by contrast, is a focused discipline—”a distinct contributor to this outcome that is user experience,” as Merholz says. It is the structured process of research, iteration, feedback, and delivery that shapes how users experience a product or service.

I very much appreciate this perspective. It aligns with thinkers like Jared Spool, who’ve long argued that everyone is a designer. Developers, marketers, salespeople, and product managers all have a role in shaping the user experience. That’s why it’s so important for product and UX teams to align on user insights, jointly validate ideas, and balance user needs with business goals.

Well done, NN/g—and thanks as always to Peter Merholz for the inspiration and insights.

Outside the Box

Earlier this month, on May 20, the bee-keeping world celebrated something called World Bee Day. As you know, bees are a central motif in the Pollinator’s lore (and logo!). We think gardening is a great metaphor for product work, and pollinating critters like butterflies and bees inspire our mission of cultivating product wisdom and insights in and beyond our SDG product community.

World Bee Day is no mere greeting-card holiday: it’s officially recognized by the United Nations. It was first proposed by the apiarians of the European nation of Slovenia. So to celebrate World Bee Day, we suggest you check out what the Slovenians have to say about it.

Check it out at: https://www.gov.si/en/registries/projects/world-bee-day/.

About the Pollinator

• The Pollinator is a free publication from the Product practice at Solution Design Group (SDG). Each issue features an opening reflection and a curated digest of noteworthy content and articles from across the internet’s vast product community.

• Solution Design Group (SDG) is an employee-owned digital product innovation and custom software development consultancy. Our team of over 200 consultants and other technology and business professionals includes experienced software engineers, technical architects, user experience designers, and product and innovation strategists. We serve companies across industries to discover promising business opportunities, build high-quality technology solutions, and improve the effectiveness of digital product teams.

• The Pollinator's editor is Jason Scherschligt, SDG's Head of Product. Please direct complaints, suggestions, and especially praise to Jason at [email protected].

• Why The Pollinator? Jason often says that as he works with leaders and teams across companies and industries, he feels like a honeybee in a garden, spending time on one flower, moving to another, collecting experiences and insights, and distributing them like pollen, so an entire garden blooms. How lovely.