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Balancing a Roadmap with Spontaneity


Think about the last family vacation you planned. It's exciting to think about what your family and friends might do and the places you'll travel. But there's quite a few factors that play a role in planning a vacation. Things like...

 Where are we going?
Who all is going?
How many days will we be gone?
How much are we willing to spend?
What form of travel will we be taking?

 And so on. You get the picture. This isn't a bad thing to do at all. Rarely will you find people that step out the door on a vacation with zero plan in mind.

 But how many people follow their very precise plans once the vacation takes place? Oftentimes, things change at the very last minute. Folks on a road trip might pass a billboard for something cool they had no idea existed. Many people will change those plans last minute and be happy they did so. Others will stick to their original plan and likely end up regretting doing so, always wondering what it would have been like to venture off that beaten path.

 All that to say is that I see this as a metaphor for business. It's a good thing for a company to have a roadmap, but it's equally important to allow flexibility for spontaneity. This is particularly important in our rapidly evolving technology landscape. Where a two year project effort might begin with the thought of leveraging one specific technology, it's very possible something better might come along halfway through that project's lifecycle.

 Should a company re-evaluate the goals of that two year project effort or continue pushing along all the same? Well, let's take that back through our vacation metaphor. Let's say you plan a two week vacation to Disney World. Halfway through the trip, you find you've done all the things you'd like to do at Disney, and you also find out Universal Studios is running a hot, new attraction you know your family will love. Do you continue as planned at Disney, or do you jump ship to Universal?

 I purposefully use that example because there are merits to both. Somebody like my wife or sister would be totally okay with staying at Disney World whereas somebody like me would like to see Harry Potter world over at Universal. Ultimately, it comes down to what's going to make us vacation goers happy.

 That's how it should also work in business. It's okay to start with a roadmap for a new product or service, but if you get midway through an effort and find something that would better benefit your customers, you should make it an obligation to prioritize that newfound whatever. Staying the course may prove to be a detriment and disservice to your customer.

 Frankly, it's a disservice to yourself, too. Why would you want to continue to sink time and dollars into something that is ultimately sub-par at best? Here's the blunt reality: if you don't take advantage of the things that will best benefit your customers, chances are another company will. Don't believe me? Go read any modern marketing book, particularly Linchpin by Seth Godin. The digital age has ushered in a new way of doing business, and if you're not keeping up, you will be left in the dust. Period.

 I hope this gives you and your company something to think about. I'm not down on roadmaps, but flexibility for spontaneity is a must for your organization to continue to thrive. Be willing to embrace the unplanned things you stumble upon midway through an effort.

 Because if you don't, somebody else will. 
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