Don't Schedule Enthusiasm
The best product collaboration can't be scheduled. When engineers show natural enthusiasm for an idea, that's your window—don't wait for the next formal meeting.
Don't Schedule Enthusiasm
The insight: The best product collaboration can't be scheduled. When engineers show natural enthusiasm for an idea, that's your window—don't wait for the next formal meeting.
What this looks like in practice: Your engineer mentions something interesting in your daily huddle. You have two choices:
- •Say "that's interesting, let's add it to the planning backlog"
- •Say "wait, can we explore that right now for 15 minutes?"
The second option gets you authentic collaboration. The first option kills momentum.
How to make this work:
- •Have flexible meeting structures (huddles that can "turn into whatever they want to be")
- •When engineers show excitement, jump on it immediately
- •Let the engineer lead the exploration when they're passionate about something
- •Treat yourself as facilitator, not dictator
The mindset shift: Stop trying to force collaboration in formal settings. Start creating space for it to happen naturally.