08/22/2025

The Secret Power of Productive Obsession

‘Good enough’ is just an efficiency metric

At many companies, the minimum viable product (MVP) mindset has become gospel. Two-week sprints and “move fast, break things” slogans keep teams iterating, but they can also trap organizations in a cycle of incrementalism—producing updates that are safe but forgettable. 

No surprise, then, that the Product Development and Management Association reports roughly 40 percent of product launches still flop—usually because they half-solve the problem or under-delight the user. In study after study, executives acknowledge a frustrating gap: Many of their offerings are just “good enough” to compete, even though they recognize that true differentiation is what drives long-term profit and loyalty.

We approach this challenge from both the studio and the boardroom, and we’ve learned from artists that “good enough” is an efficiency metric; it’s “great enough,” an emotional metric, that we should be measuring instead.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.