Watering down.  It’s what happens to great concepts once they enter the beauracratic world of a corporation.  A concept goes from revolutionary and unlike anything other to just another boring product.

It’s what happens when you get too many cooks in the kitchen.  It’s what happens when every executive wants a piece of ownership in a project.  It’s what happens when your coworkers want safety, to be as close to the other market participants so that there isn’t a big miss.   Watering down is easy.  It also makes everyone feel good in the process. It makes the executives feel good to have their input come to life, it makes coworkers feel good that they won’t get fired for making a product that flops, it makes you feel good because everyone around you feels good; until the market gets it and hates it.

Or worse, yawns.

Then everyone doesn’t feel so good. Then they look to you as the product manager or project leader.  What happened? Why did you do this? Why didn’t you do that? Why isn’t it working? Why isn’t it selling?  What happened?

And the only real answer is that no one (you) fought hard enough for the original vision.

Thats your job as a product manager. Fight for the original vision.  Tell your coworkers no. Tell your executives no. Tell your suppliers no and customer service people no and operations people no.  Tell anyone that wants to water the idea down for the sake of making it easier on the status quo, no. Fight for the vision.

While people may dislike you in the process they’ll like you when it’s finished.  Because no matter how many ideas you reject, how many compromises you refuse to make, in the end people love bold, original ideas.  They’re exciting and inspiring.

And if they or the market don’t end up liking your idea? You stuck to what you believe in – and that’s something worth feeling good about any time.