Function over Form in Design - A Product Perspective

I have worked with great engineers, developers, product owners and designers. All of which have extended my mindset and broadened my thinking.

However, what I have found throughout my career is organisations are generally faced with the same challenges:

- Short sightedness

- Hacks to get things working now

- Pressure to fulfill a mandate that changes the position of a company

In facing these issues, Product leaders should be able to navigate through these very usual problems that everyone faces in a digital landscape. Along with this, there will always be competing priorities and of course cost to factor in. I have one rule that I always follow as a Product Leader. Always leave a situation better than you found it.

You could be a visionary in an environment that doesn't harbor this sense of creativity, but it might not be your job to be a visionary. Focus on improvement, functionality then differentiation. If you can't do it in the current environment you're in, you will always have the opportunity to do it in another.