Raising the water line

@mpspradlin|February 07, 2024 (315 days ago)

Early in my career, a product manager (PM) introduced me to the concept of "Raising the Waterline." The PM was explaining her thinking on whether to target building specific features that might work for a subset of customers, or build features that would make our tool more useful for a broader superset.

The decision involved weighing a specific tradeoff: solving specific problems less quickly, and therefore creating the perception of slower improvement for some customers that had particular features in mind, offset by increasing the overall usefulness for everyone.

The waterline phrase is a nod to the metaphor of a rising tide lifts all boats.

Steady improvement yields good results in life and at work. The central idea of "Raising the Waterline" is about creating an environment where team members are encouraged to generally make things function a little better all the time. Small but continuous change compounds over time. In a software company, resources are limited, the pressure to deliver is high, and choosing what to do or not do is often difficult.

In a software startup, raising the waterline might involve:

• Deciding to tackle and speed up “hard” situations that repeat. An example would be implementing a deal desk workflow to more quickly approve the trickier parts of contract negotiations, establish defaults, and prevent mistakes before they introduce downstream impact. Or, establishing a regular cadence to “clear the decks” of more difficult, debate-focused decision (e.g., every 1 month we will meet to discuss anything that hasn’t been resolved in so-and-so topic area).

• Insisting on rituals to share and disperse learning, like regular code reviews, pair programming sessions, or dedicated time for team members to explore new technologies and share their findings. Rituals and ways of working can be constructed to ensure everyone is not just keeping pace but also contributing to a rising standard.

• Over time, elevating the collective skill set and problem-solving capabilities in your group, which can be the difference between success and failure. Generally, you earn your way to work on harder problems. In your internal operations, your ability to more confidently handle key work challenges over time can help your team’s clock speed. Individual weaknesses can become team vulnerabilities. By focusing on raising collective competence, startups can create a more resilient and adaptable team.

In practice, implementing the waterline concept requires a commitment to regular and open communication, psychological safety to bring forth what needs improving, and a shared sense of purpose or craftsmanship.