They were building features, not a business

I once met a CEO who was visibly proud of his company's team. A salesperson closed a big deal, promised the customer three new features, and the product development team, like an efficient factory, delivered them on time. Everything looked perfect.

But it was an illusion.

In reality, the company was drifting into a destructive cycle. Even though they were constantly shipping new features, the product itself became more complex, customer satisfaction declined, and maintenance costs rose. They were delivering revenue, but they weren't creating sustainable value.

In our conversations, I used a metaphor to explain their situation. Their company was like a restaurant where the waiters (sales) could bring any special order to the kitchen (product development). The kitchen complied obediently, but the menu had become a mess, and the quality of the most important dishes plummeted. Customers began to disappear.

I helped them understand that there are two completely different worlds:

• The Old World (Sales-led): In this model, technology is a servant that fulfills requests from the business. It's a feature factory whose value is measured in speed of delivery. This model optimizes for individual sales deals.

• The New World (Product-led): In this model, the business is built on top of technology. Technology is not a servant, but a strategic partner and the most important source of value creation. This model optimizes for customer value and long-term growth.

Their biggest mistake was forcing technology into the role of the old world. They gave their teams features to build, not problems to solve, exactly as Marty Cagan has warned.

Is technology a servant or a master at your company?

The change in their company began when they stopped asking, "What should we build?" and gave the product development team the power to ask, "Why?". They gave the kitchen responsibility for the menu.

So I ask you, CEOs and CTOs: Is technology in your company still a servant waiting for orders? Or is it a strategic partner upon which your entire future is built?

How you answer this will determine whether you are building features or a sustainable business.