BOOK PRAISE
See what others are saying about The Product Mindset.
David and Jessica's endeavor to equip companies with the tools and perspective to succeed in the evolving future of our digital environment is a worthwhile and essential read. Ninja Innovators everywhere must pick up The Product Mindset.
David and Jessica’s approach to the digital economy is insightful and incredibly relevant. The Product Mindset can and should be employed by any company looking to grow and thrive in today’s fast-paced business climate.
The Product Mindset is the perfect antidote to an era where too many companies think, 'if they build it, customers will come.' Chock full of practical insight, including the author’s mantra, 'digital products must be chosen,’ this book flips the way executives and their teams have to think about building digital experiences. This is a must-read for anyone operating in the digital economy and offers a new way to do so successfully.
The Product Mindset has revolutionized our approach in serving students' and colleges' technology needs and improved our work to break down barriers to higher education. Whatever your mission, this approach is the way to accomplish it.
Any company - big or small, new or old - would be better off for adopting this way of thinking. Business leaders that pick up The Product Mindset have unique insights into digital-era success in the palm of their hand.
The approach David and Jessica have spelled out in The Product Mindset is precisely the one business leaders need to take if they want their company to excel with customers and succeed in an ever-changing, increasingly competitive market.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Co-authors David DeWolf and Jessica Hall share background on why they wrote The Product Mindset, the audience the book was written for, and more in this book trailer. Watch to hear about the genesis of the book and how it can drive alignment in your organization.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Co-authors David DeWolf and Jessica Hall share background on why they wrote The Product Mindset, the audience the book was written for, and more in this book trailer. Watch to hear about the genesis of the book and how it can drive alignment in your organization.
THE PRODUCT MINDSET – Q&A
with authors David DeWolf and Jessica Hall
What is the Product Mindset?
The Product Mindset is a way of thinking. It provides a set of guiding principles that product teams can use to optimize decision-making and create successful software products.
Why does “mindset” matter?
We’re working in a digital age, and companies need a digital mindset if they want to excel. In 2006, Google introduced Cloud Computing, and Facebook became available to the public. Within 10 years, almost half the world’s population was online. We’ve never seen change of this scope occur this fast, and it’s only getting faster. The Product Mindset enables organizations to change with the times, instead of relying on strategies that could become irrelevant as new innovations become available. It focuses on how things are done, rather than what’s being done – an approach rather than a checklist.
What led you to develop the Product Mindset and write this book?
The idea for the Product Mindset originated in our work with clients, but we developed it formally in order to train our own teams. Eventually our clients started asking about what made us so different, and as we began sharing our mindset, they kept asking us to train their executives. This book is written so we can more widely share this transformative way of thinking with business leaders everywhere.
How have you seen The Product Mindset transform your own work?
We used to help clients by cleaning up the messes that were left behind from other software developers or consultants. They were building technology for its own sake without really understanding the product’s purpose or value. But now that we’re sharing the Product Mindset with our clients, we are working with them in newer, more exciting ways and seeing them grow much more quickly than they were before. Our clients are innovating, adapting and using the digital economy to their advantage instead of shying away from it. Within our own company, our employees are taking greater pride in the work they are doing because they are seeing the results. Employees want to be part of something bigger than themselves. With a Product Mindset, we don’t ask our engineers to mindlessly write code. We tell them about our clients’ problems and ask them how they think we should solve them.
Who needs to read The Product Mindset?
We wrote this book specifically for senior executives who are struggling to lead digital efforts. We’re living in scary times. The economics of major industries are being disrupted, and many executives feel ill-equipped to lead their organizations into the digital economy. The reality is that they don’t have to understand all of the technology that’s out there. Every executive can build or sustain a thriving company if he or she applies the guiding principles of the Product Mindset to their organization.
How is The Product Mindset different from other leadership/business philosophies on the market?
The Product Mindset is intended to supplement, not replace, other industry methodologies. Its purpose is to give leaders within an organization – executives, engineers, product managers and user experience professionals – a common set of principles, so that they prioritize the things that matter.
What’s an unexpected takeaway or lesson from The Product Mindset?
One of our core principles is that a product is never really “done,” and this might surprise some people. Success means embracing evolution and change, rather than looking for one easy fix. The top 100 apps have one thing in common – updates. The top 100 apps are updated 300 times more often than the apps underneath them. That’s the reality of digital products today. We want to equip companies with a way of thinking about their work that will allow them to thrive and grow in the long term.
What would business in America look like if everyone adopted The Product Mindset?
There would be less busy work and more intentionality; less bureaucracy and more connectivity; and less planning and more action. It would be a world in which the consumer’s needs drive the direction of companies. Business would no longer be about what companies think they should create, but what they know they should create because the product fills a particular need within an industry.
DAVID H. DEWOLF
David DeWolf is the Founder and CEO of 3Pillar Global. Since founding 3Pillar in 2006, he has guided the company to a leadership position within the Product Development Services sector.
David lives at the intersection of business, technology, and leadership. After accidentally starting his company, 3Pillar Global, at the age of 26, David has grown the organization to nearly 1000 employees around the globe, hitting the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies for seven of the last eight years.
3Pillar Global builds customer-facing digital products for companies like Carfax, PBS, Equinox, National Geographic, and many other industry-leading clients. After a little more than a decade in business, 3Pillar and David have racked up dozens of awards, including SmartCEO Magazine’s Future 50, Washington DC’s 40 Under 40, and Virginia’s Fantastic 50.
JESSICA HALL
Jessica Hall is the VP of Product Strategy and Design for 3Pillar Global. She leads teams that help startup, midsize, and enterprise clients invest in products that customers want and drive the business forward.
Jessica Hall is the VP of Product Strategy and Design for 3Pillar Global. She leads teams that help startup, midsize, and enterprise clients invest in products that customers want and drive business forward. Jessica has done everything from user experience design, strategy, product management, video production, to multi-channel marketing.
Previously, she built the UX team at CEB and led the creation of the Newseum’s interaction exhibits and websites. Her work has been recognized by the Web Marketing Association, American Association of Museums, The Webby Awards, Time, Graphic Design USA, Forbes, and The Washington Post.
Jessica holds a Masters in Design and Digital Media from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in Journalism from American University.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
DAVID H. DEWOLF
David DeWolf is the Founder and CEO of 3Pillar Global. Since founding 3Pillar in 2006, he has guided the company to a leadership position within the Product Development Services sector.
David DeWolf lives at the intersection of business, technology, and leadership. After accidentally starting his company, 3Pillar Global, at the age of 26, David has grown the organization to nearly 1000 employees around the globe, hitting the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies for seven of the last eight years.
3Pillar Global builds customer-facing digital products for companies like Carfax, PBS, Equinox, National Geographic, and many other industry-leading clients. After a little more than a decade in business, 3Pillar and David have racked up dozens of awards, including SmartCEO Magazine’s Future 50, Washington DC’s 40 Under 40, and Virginia’s Fantastic 50.
JESSICA S. HALL
Jessica Hall is the VP of Product Strategy and Design for 3Pillar Global. She leads teams that help startup, midsize, and enterprise clients invest in products that customers want and drive the business forward.
Previously, Jess built the UX team at CEB and led the creation of the Newseum’s interaction exhibits and websites. Her work has been recognized by the Web Marketing Association, American Association of Museums, The Webby Awards, Time, Graphic Design USA, Forbes, and The Washington Post.
Jessica holds a Masters in Design and Digital Media from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in Journalism from American University.