Welcome to The Overlap! A newsletter somewhere between product and org design.
The Overlap comes out every week now! This is the free edition that comes out every other Thursday. I’m also experimenting with publishing subscriber-only editions until October 27. Here was our last subscriber-only edition.
You can still use OVERLAP to get a 15% discount at Doing Better Work Together. My coworkers are doing a talk there!
If frameworks don’t tell the whole story, why are we so obsessed with them?
The technology adoption curve. Lean. Jobs-to-be-done. Kano’s prioritization model. Service blueprints. Even over statements (😅). Product-led growth. Data -> Insight -> Belief -> Bet.
I love a good framework. I know you love a good framework too.
Curious people love frameworks. Product managers especially.
Why?
Frameworks are a “proven method.” Proven methods mean we don’t have to worry. It’s proven, so of course, our plan is going to work.
Frameworks tell us exactly what to do in ambiguous situations. Product managers are always dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity. Someone! Anyone! Just tell me what to do.
Frameworks make you feel intelligent! Let’s be real. Many of us enjoy appearing intelligent. I mean, why do you read so many product newsletters and articles? Of course, I believe that we learn about frameworks out of genuine curiosity but let’s not shy away from the fact that we as humans generally feel good about ourselves when people think we’re smart.
Frameworks are great.
But have you ever thought about why there are so many damn frameworks out there?
Put yourself in the shoes of someone who writes about a framework. A lot. Here’s what their journey might look like (a Framework Author Journey, if you will):
You face challenges in your job
You find patterns in those challenges
You translate those patterns into a Framework
You publish that Framework on Medium
It gains traction! Hacker News. Retweets.
You get tons of emails from people asking for advice on how to use it
You start doing 1:1 coaching
You get emails from companies asking you to do workshops on that Framework
You start doing corporate workshops on the Framework
You target your book to leaders who have the authority and budget to bring in consultants. New biz potential.
You get even more new business!
Someone other online writer writes about how your Framework is dead. Or not helpful. Their article gets traction. They start their own Framework Author Journey. The cycle continues…
Anyway. You get the idea.
My intent here is not to dismiss writers who publish frameworks. I publish frameworks! Frameworks help our field and push forward the way we build products.
My intent here is to help you be more aware of why these frameworks are made, and ultimately help you develop your own worldview.
The gap between frameworks and reality
In 2016, I wrote that there was a large gap between organizational theory and practice. Today, I can make a similar case about product: there is a huge gap between frameworks (theory) and reality (practice).
Frameworks are linear. They are step-by-step instructions.
But reality isn’t linear. Reality is a timeline that becomes outdated the moment the project starts. Reality is a hard conversation with a coworker that strengthens your working relationship. Reality is your organization’s fifth re-org in three years. No amount of reading about frameworks has prepared us for these moments — this moment is a moment to practice.
Frameworks are as pristine as a clean, perfectly-planned city. Everyone follows the rules there. Whereas reality is a city that’s chock full of surprises. Cars are parked next to sidewalks that have No Parking signs. Today’s weather is sunny. Tomorrow? Rain. But that’s only what the weather app says… let’s see if it actually rains tomorrow.
To me, frameworks are just a frame to work within. Not a silver-bullet solution. Not the answer to all your organization’s challenges. A frame to work within; a structure to create something from.
I’m brought back to adrienne maree brown’s thoughts on practice, from we are in a time of new suns (slightly edited by me):
…I always tell people that you’re always practicing things. It’s not like you go from not practicing to practicing. It’s, are you practicing things on purpose? Are you practicing things you would want to practice? Or are you practicing what someone else has told you is the right way to do stuff?
Practicing what someone else has told you is like taking a framework off the shelf and doing it without knowing why you’re doing it.
Practicing on purpose is understanding what about the framework will help you with your current challenge.
So next time you’re inspired by a framework, remember! A framework is just a frame to work within. Use them to help you practice and develop your own worldview.
Throwback Thursday
Don’t adopt frameworks. Test practices. Something I wrote in 2019!
What I’m Reading
See you in two weeks (orr next week, if you’ve subscribed).
–tim