I expect that most of those that will read this work or have worked in technology. That’s because I’ve mostly worked in technology as has most everyone around me.
When you work in technology, regardless of the company, stage, industry, etc., everyone is after the same thing.
Product/market fit.
It’s a term so often used that we seldom reflect on its meaning, so I’ll take a moment to do just that. Defined loosely, product/market fit is the degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand. So, a new app comes along and no one cares – poor product market fit. Another app comes along, this time it’s ChatGPT and nearly everyone has tried it and many of them have decided to become paid users – strong product market fit.
So if that is product/market fit, what is Product/Life Fit?
Referring back to the top, where you probably work in technology (though it applies even if you don't), most of us wake up each day and dedicate a portion of our time to a product. For those in technology, it might be a product in the “truest” sense – an app, a SaaS software, whatever. For those not in technology, it’s still time spent dedicated to a product, but more loosely defined. Maybe the product you contribute to is a service – you’re a service worker. Or the product is a platform such as a newspaper and you are a writer. On and on.
I won’t belabor the point but I hope you get it; we dedicate hours to a product, and wake up each morning to do more of the same. If you accept that, then I hope you will accept this.
Product/Life Fit is the extent to which the product you dedicate your time to satisfies your demands of your life – your interests, your goals, and your desires towards a life worth living and a life truly fulfilled.
Many of us, myself included, don't frequently pause to reflect on our Product/Life Fit, yet in a world that is seemingly moving faster and faster, it is increasingly more important to do just that. That’s because both sides of the equation are constantly changing.
The products we work on continuously adapt to new market demands, technologies, macroeconomic shifts, and more.
On our side, our lives are in constant flux. With each change (e.g. getting married, having a child) or new insight (e.g. reading a book, scrolling social media) our perspectives shift. Oftentimes it is these shifts in perspective that can lead to changes in our demands of our lives – our interests, goals, and desires.
Thus, the balance of our Product/Life Fit is constantly shifting, but we aren’t always paying attention.
What’s worse, even if we do get a sense that something “might be off”, we have a tendency to focus on the wrong part of the equation. We focus on the product – on our jobs. We convince ourselves that if we (often blindly) put more time, more energy, more of ourselves into our roles and careers, success will follow and fulfill all of our life's desires.
But it doesn’t usually work out that way.
With this newsletter (the name makes sense now, right?), my goal is to start to shift the gaze of willing readers to the latter part of the Product/Life Fit equation. To ask probing questions of our lives. What does my current role really do for me? How does my current role and path contribute to my ultimately achieving my life goals and true fulfillment? Do I even know what my life goals are? Can I define fulfillment for myself?
This sort of reflection led me to change many aspects of my life. The change that tipped my Product/Life Fit equation was becoming a father. Many parents know that having a child changes everything – including how you might define your life goals. As mentioned above, I was asleep at the wheel as my children came and rearranged my life. I realized it too late and now know my life was significantly unbalanced, leading me to stay in a role for too long, which was unfair to myself, my company, and most importantly, my family.
In my product work, I advise companies to regularly evaluate their product/market fit. Just as with our lives, changes in circumstances can impact the relevance of a product to its market. A recession could come along and make your high-end food delivery service less appealing to as many customers as it once did.
The first step to most anything is insight. I hope this newsletter provides readers with an opportunity to gain insights about their Product Life/Fit – to deeply reflect on their lives and what motivates them and ensure it aligns with how they spend their days towards a life fulfilled.
If this resonated, I encourage you to join on this journey. As I did here, I will spend time drawing parallels between life and technology, exploring what happens when we compare lessons learned from both. Ideally, everyone comes out with a new insight or two.
As many of us know, product/market fit requires hard work and persistence. It’s the reason why most startups fail. It’s the companies that pause regularly, find their bearings, and choose their next steps wisely that tend to be the ones to succeed.
That’s just what we’ll do here. It’s that sort of reflection that changed my life for the better.
Maybe some reflection on your Product/Life Fit can do the same for you?
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