By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
This essay recounts how Datasite, a SaaS provider for dealmaking, rebuilt its outdated platform under pressure to keep clients from leaving. When the platform failed during a beta launch with an Irish client, the company used the setback as a turning point rather than assigning blame. A three-day alignment meeting revealed that departments were working side by side but not as one team. Leaders then ranked over 150 launch requirements and used an eight-month deadline to unify the organization around a shared digital vision. The author argues that failure, handled well, can build alignment and lead to lasting business and cultural gains.
01Key takeaways
- Treat a high-stakes failure as a chance to diagnose root causes instead of assigning blame.
- Misalignment across functions can hide behind working together; check whether teams share a common purpose.
- Turn a large, vague goal into a prioritized list of concrete requirements with a firm deadline.
- A shared vision built through alignment can improve trust, decision speed, and team productivity.
02Key sections
- Urgency behind the rebuild
- Datasite's platform had become outdated as clients moved to the cloud, forcing a full rebuild. The effort was driven by fear of losing customers rather than by a shared vision.
- The failed beta launch
- A beta client in Ireland exposed that the platform was not ready, despite extensive testing and demos. Leadership chose to treat the failure as an opportunity instead of looking for someone to blame.
- Realigning the organization
- A three-day meeting showed that teams lacked a common purpose and definition of digital transformation. Leaders responded by listing and prioritizing more than 150 launch requirements.
- Results of the turnaround
- Over eight months the company moved all clients to the platform and built a shared culture and faster decisions. Revenue grew 37% between 2019 and 2021 and the company gained industry recognition.
03From the post
“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.