“That’s just like, your opinion, man.” - The Dude
That scene might be the perfect encapsulation of how we think about opinions in product development today. We treat them almost like a dirty word – something to be avoided, something to be replaced with cold, hard data.
But here’s the thing: your opinion matters. A lot. Probably more than anything else. And I’m tired of seeing talented product teams paralyzed by their endless quest for more data, more research, more validation. It’s like watching someone stand at the edge of a swimming pool with a thermometer, constantly checking if the temperature is perfect before jumping in.
I get it. Making decisions is scary. Being wrong is scary. But you know what’s scarier? Never making a bold move because you’re trapped in the cycle of “just one more data point.”
Let me tell you something I’ve learned after years in product: you already know more than you think you do. If you’re talking to your customers regularly, if you’re deeply embedded in your market, you’ve built up an incredible reservoir of intuition and expertise. Your tactic knowledge is your superpower. Yet so many of us discount this because it doesn’t come nicely packaged in a spreadsheet or a research report.
Your unique perspective – yes, your opinions – are actually your superpower. They’re formed by your specific experiences, your conversations, your failures, and your successes. The irony is that the most interesting products, the ones that truly change the game, often come from someone having a strong opinion about how things should be.
Having a point of view is something that helps you see opportunities others miss. You observe the world, apply your knowledge, and create an idea. This is what helps you create something truly different in a world of me-too products.
I’m not saying data isn’t important. Of course it is. But think of data in two ways:
- Data should inform your opinions, not replace them.
- Data can tell you if your opinions were right or wrong.
Form strong opinions, then test them. Be wrong sometimes. Learn from it. But whatever you do, don’t hide behind the endless pursuit of perfect information.
Because at the end of the day, your opinion isn’t just valid – it’s valuable. And yes, that’s just like, my opinion, man.