Most waste is correct building aimed wrong
Start at the outcome; the product still matters, but as the path to the beach, not the reason anyone wants to go. Most founder waste is correct building aimed at the wrong target.
Starting at the outcome doesn't mean the product stops mattering. The product is how people reach the outcome they want, the plane that carries them to the beach, essential, but never the reason anyone wants to go. And most founder waste isn't sloppy building. It's excellent building aimed at the wrong target. The fastest possible work in the wrong direction is still wasted.
He shipped a gorgeous feature in four days. The team was proud. The code was clean. It worked perfectly.
It moved nothing. No new signups, no new retention, no new revenue.
"But we shipped it so fast," he said, and that was exactly the trap.
The speed wasn't the win. The speed was the problem in disguise. He'd built the wrong thing, beautifully, in record time, and the faster he built wrong things, the faster he burned the runway.
Most founder waste isn't sloppy building. It's excellent building, aimed at the wrong target. The fastest possible work in the wrong direction is still wasted work; it just feels productive while it's happening.
Most waste is correct building aimed wrong. The fastest possible work in the wrong direction is still wasted work.