There are hidden benefits to small wins.
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
Your product roadmap needs big bets to rise above the competitive herd. But little bets (and little wins) deployed strategically can provide long term payoffs, as well as boost company morale.
Solving several small problems for your customers can in aggregate lead to big gains in customer happiness. The updates to your product show progress, and often, customers buy your product not only for what it delivers now, but also for what it will become in the future.
A sample roadmap. Some quick wins early in the year can show progress and boost morale.
Small wins can sometimes bridge gaps to achieving your big bets. Many life-changing features started out as weekend Hackathon projects. Small bets can lead to huge wins.
Furthermore, making progress in meaningful work are important drivers for morale. On days when progress is being made, people have exhibited better mood and more motivation. And mood dramatically worsened on days where there were setbacks.
Source: HBR: The Power of Small Wins
Better moods lead to happier work environments, more collaboration, and overall better satisfaction with work. Such cultures will attract more talent, which is one of the most critical drivers to success.
A fantastic book on the benefits of a happy and engaged team is The Happiness Advantage from Shawn Achor.
So don’t be afraid to go after low hanging fruit. As important as it is to keep your team focused when building big bets, it’s equally important to show progress and small wins for your product organization. And as you can see, these small wins can have dramatic benefits to your team as a whole.