Transformation Part 1: Stop Building Stuff Nobody Wants

The shift from a project-based model to a product-based model may sound like the typical corporate transformation, a jargon-laden PowerPoint journey, sprinkled with bullet points about “value creation” and “alignment.” But in reality, this journey involves reshaping the very backbone of an organization — its mindset, its people, its methods, and its measurement. Think of it as the difference between turning a fleet of ships toward a new horizon and re-engineering those ships mid-voyage. It’s not just hard work; it’s hard work that has to endure under pressure. It has to last beyond meetings and memos. So, what does this transformation actually entail?

“Transitioning to a product-based model requires a seismic shift in thinking, a pivot from completing tasks to creating something enduring for the customer.”

Stage One: Mindset Shift

Most companies talk about “delivering value,” but what they really mean is delivering projects that meet deadlines and stay within budget. Transitioning to a product-based model requires a seismic shift in this thinking, a pivot from completing tasks to creating something that solves a problem for the customer that can be continuously measured and managed. At its core, a product-based approach focuses on relentless value delivery, with the understanding that the job is never truly “done.” Think of it as swapping out a chef who’s just cooking for a daily menu to one who’s continually refining the recipe based on diners’ feedback. This shift involves fostering an entire culture that revolves around discovery and curiosity. It’s one thing to finish a project; it’s another to reimagine it, knowing the finish line will keep moving based on customer needs.

This cultural transformation often feels threatening, particularly to those who have built careers on ticking off finite milestones in a bowling chart or a waterfall schedule. Success is no longer about moving from “point A” to “point B” but about continuously iterating, discovering, and refining. In a product model, if the customer isn’t thrilled, the job isn’t complete — and there are always customers who aren’t thrilled (like the ones you haven’t acquired yet). This brings a level of accountability that can shake up even the most fortified of corporate structures.

“In a product model, if the customer isn’t thrilled, the job isn’t complete. And this brings a level of accountability that can shake up even the most fortified of corporate structures.”

Stage Two: Team Reorganization

With the mindset shifting, the next step is to organize people not around tasks or outputs, but around outcomes. This reorganization is often the most visible change. In a project-based model, teams disband after completing a project, creating silos and losing hard-earned insights. A product-based model requires stable, cross-functional teams that own their product end-to-end, day-to-day and are not responsible for output but accountable for outcomes. These teams have dedicated product managers, engineers, designers, marketers — essentially, everyone needed to deliver the product from concept into the market through continuous evolution.

In practice, this reorganization means tearing down walls between departments and assigning product managers to lead teams with a laser focus on outcomes. It requires embedding diverse expertise into each team, enabling them to act quickly, making decisions on the fly, and responding to user needs. The success of this stage rests on stability — teams that stay together to build domain expertise, rather than moving in and out like contractors on a job site. This is where ownership begins to take root, and where user obsession starts to make sense to the organization at large.

“Agile is a shift in rhythm, a change in how work gets done. It means embracing iteration over completion, recognizing that speed, feedback, and change aren’t just buzzwords — they’re the new operational reality.”

Stage Three: Agile Adoption

Rubber meet road. Adopting Agile practices like Scrum or Kanban introduces the flexibility and iteration needed to keep products aligned with customer needs. But it’s not just about sticking post-it notes on a wall or adding daily standups to the calendar. Agile is a shift in rhythm, a change in how work gets done. It means embracing iteration over completion, and recognizing that speed, feedback, and change aren’t just buzzwords — they’re the new operational reality.

Agile adoption also demands a companion: Continuous delivery — releasing small, incremental improvements — requires a seamless deployment pipeline that allows these small changes to go live without a Herculean deployment effort. This is the bridge that keeps Agile from being just a neat theory on a slide deck. It’s the nuts and bolts of delivering those frequent updates, gathering feedback, and improving continuously, fostering a loop that brings the product makers closer to their user and her problems. It’s a system that thrives on feedback, and in doing so, it transforms products into living, evolving entities rather than static monuments to past needs or past deeds.

Stage Four: Metrics and Performance

And measurement. The project-based model celebrates milestones and budgets — measuring success by completion and cost adherence. But products aren’t meant to be “finished.” They’re measured by their adoption, user satisfaction, and impact. This stage reorients the company’s metrics from internal yardsticks to ones that mirror customer value: Are users happier? Is engagement up? Are we solving meaningful problems?

This realignment also shifts how funding and governance operate. Rather than fighting for project funding annually or quarterly, product teams move to a continuous funding model. Governance, too, needs to flex with this model, shifting from oversight committees that approve projects to structures that monitor ongoing value and customer impact. This stage isn’t just a change in how success is measured; it’s a shift in how accountability is structured and where oversight focuses its energy.

The result of these four stages is not just a different organizational structure or a new set of processes. It’s a change in how a company sees itself and its role in the world. Moving from project to product isn’t a transition to be managed; it’s a redefinition of what the company is fundamentally trying to achieve.