Zooming Out: When It’s Not Just Your User

Hey friends,

Last week, I was at a product org off-site, and I came back with a completely different perspective.

One session, centered on Jobs To Be Done, really stuck with me.
Not because it introduced a brand new framework, but because it reframed how I think about ownership.

Here’s the shift:
I used to think about our work like a Venn diagram.
My product. My users. My roadmap.
Occasional overlap with other teams.

But when we zoomed out to talk about the real “jobs” our users are trying to accomplish, something became very clear:

We’re all solving for the same user.

Just in different contexts, with different tools.

You’re not working in a silo, even if it feels like it

Especially in a remote org, it’s easy to assume your product space is totally distinct.
But those overlaps? They’re there. And they matter.

JTBD ≠ a Framework Exercise

❌ It's not about rewording a problem statement to sound smarter.
✔️ It’s about grounding your thinking in what your actual users are trying to get done, beyond your feature, surface, or tool.

📚 Quick read:
Jobs-to-be-Done: A Framework for Customer Needs - Tony Ulwick

In-person time accelerates alignment. Remote time fuels execution.

I love being remote. (You know this.)
But something magic happens when we share physical space:
The overlaps surface faster.
The shared understanding builds quicker.
The ideas spark sideways.

💡Now that we’re back to our regular (remote) lives, I feel more equipped than ever to build, not just for “my” users, but for our users.

Biggest lesson from the week:
🚢 Don’t just ship features.
🔍️ Zoom out.
🤝 Find the shared job.
🖼️ And build like you're part of a bigger picture, because you are.

Till next week,
Stef

PS: If this hit home or sparked a shift in your own thinking, I’d love to hear from you! Just reply and say hey.