Darryl.net

Our new CEO at PlayFirst recently introduced a concept that I’ll keep in my swiss army knife of product tools: the start/stop list. Basically, you and others in the organization write down projects you would like to stop and other things you would like to start doing. Then you compare the lists and see what is repeated most. This method can get around some of the groupthink that keeps some projects moving forward that should otherwise be canned.

Joel Spoelsky recently posted a great example of how this tool might have helped a company survive. First, read his post on how Clear shut down. Then, imagine what a start/stop list would have looked like from most of the employees throughout the organization:

Start:

• Figuring out what people would pay just to skip the line (not to skip screening)
• See what kind of business this price point could support

Stop:

• Doing onerous background checks on people when we can’t actually let them skip the security line

Try this list out in your organization – it’s fun! Then, question the status quo if a little crowdsourcing seems to “clearly” point in a different direction.