You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first

July 17, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! Lots going on in the Cleveland Product community, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

To make real progress, we have to take some risk. No matter how successful your organization has been in the past. No matter what industry you are in. No matter how small or large your company is. As Frederick Wilcox once said, “Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” (For those of you that know me, I love to use baseball quotes in a business context.)

There are many reasons why you should take risks when building your products - and the below article from LivePlan explains them well - but the one that always sticks out to me is that innovation involves risk, by nature. If you are taking risks you are most likely outside of your comfort zone - and the comfort zone of your team or organization - and that is where innovation typically happens. Not all innovation involves significant risk, so you should assess the amount of risk your organization can handle before proceeding. But keep pressing forward, because we all need innovation to happen! Note: Some industries have more constraints from a legislative or regulative perspective, so please account for those as well.

Click the button below to read the full article from LivePlan. Play ball! ⚾️

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About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!I have no