In the fast-paced, ever-changing landscape of B2B/B2C digital products, especially within large organizations, one of the greatest challenges is recognizing the subtle forces determining success or failure. Often, as professionals, we’re caught in the heat of the moment—moving forward with our ideas, plans, and assumptions—only to look back later and wonder, “What went wrong?”
The truth is, it’s much easier to reflect on decisions with a hindsight vision. Identifying the key reasons for success or failure becomes far more complex when we’re in the driver’s seat. The framework for known unknowns, blind spots, and first principles thinking can help, but it demands humility, objectivity, and a willingness to keep the ego aside.
Let’s explore this framework in the context of B2B / B2C digital products and how we can learn from both success and failure while still staying true to the core message: It’s often tough to identify what went wrong or right during the process, but with the right mindset and reflection, one can gain invaluable insights for the future.
The Framework for Recognizing Success and Failure
The framework, created by Avnish Bajaj, divides knowledge into four key categories that help us understand why certain products or companies succeed and others fail. Understanding these categories with examples will help us reflect more effectively on the known and unknowns
Known to Me and Known to Others: Shared Knowledge
This category encompasses information that is widely available and accepted within the industry—such as market trends, competitor strategies, and general consumer behavior. While this knowledge is essential, it is not enough to lead innovation independently. For success, doing something different with that shared knowledge is crucial.
- Example: In its early stages, Facebook leveraged the common knowledge of social networks. However, by focusing specifically on college campuses, it created a unique niche. Blackberry, on the other hand, failed to evolve with the changing smartphone trends despite having knowledge of mobile markets.
- Lesson for my professional life: In large organizations, especially when developing B2B or B2C digital products, Use shared knowledge effectively but not rely on it alone. I need to keep an eye on industry shifts and question whether the market is moving in a direction I might be overlooking.
Known to Me and Unknown to Others: My Unique Edge
Here, we’re talking about insights or knowledge that you possess that others in your market or organization do not. This edge differentiates and can be the difference between success and stagnation in a rapidly changing landscape.
- Example: Apple revolutionized the mobile phone industry with the iPhone by leveraging its unique understanding of user experience and design principles, which others hadn’t yet prioritized.
- Lesson for my professional life: In the context of enterprise architecture, this unique edge might be deep knowledge of my customer’s pain points, technological expertise, or a disruptive solution that others have yet to explore. Leverage this edge to differentiate my product in the market.
Unknown to Me and Known to Others: Blind Spots
Blind spots occur when I am unaware of areas that others know about. These can be market shifts, changing customer behaviors, or new technological advancements that I haven’t yet accounted for.
- Example: Nokia was once a leader in mobile phones but was blindsided by the smartphone revolution. They failed to see the importance of touchscreen interfaces and the app ecosystem.
- Lesson for my professional life: In enterprise architecture, blind spots can arise if I focus too heavily on internal data or processes and miss out on what competitors or customers are doing. I should regularly seek feedback from different stakeholders and benchmark my strategies against what others are doing. It will help minimize these blind spots.
Unknown to Me and Unknown to Others: Unexplored Territory
This category is where innovation happens. It’s the space where no one has the answers yet—where I have to go beyond current assumptions and industry norms to create something new.
- Example: Google, when it developed its search engine, was navigating uncharted territory. They didn’t just improve upon existing search engines; they redefined how the internet could be navigated.
- Lesson for your professional life: In data frameworks or AI/ML models, embracing the unknown can lead to groundbreaking innovations. Experimentation is key. Build a culture within my team that encourages exploring unexplored areas, solving problems from first principles, and never fearing to challenge established paradigms.
Reflecting with Hindsight: The Role of Ego and Emotional Attachment
While the framework offers a valuable roadmap for assessing why things succeed or fail, the ability to reflect on these categories is often more critical. It’s easy to become emotionally attached to my ideas in the heat of the moment, especially when I’ve invested time, resources, or costs into them. The challenge is to separate ego from evaluation.
In a large organization, egos can sometimes block objective assessments, especially when a project has been long in the making. We might feel emotionally invested in a direction we’ve been pushing for, leading to bias in decision-making. The hardest part, in hindsight, is accepting that failure or failure to innovate came because we couldn’t step back and view things from a fresh perspective.
Here’s the takeaway: It’s tough to identify what went wrong when I’m driving the project, but with hindsight, the reflections come more quickly, provided I take the ego out of the equation. When reflecting on a product or strategy, ask myself:
- Did I focus too much on shared knowledge and follow the crowd?
- Did I neglect our unique edge, allowing competitors to outperform us?
- Was I too focused on internal processes and missed external market shifts?
- Was I too afraid to venture into uncharted territory and experiment?
Conclusion: Learning from the Unknown
In my professional life, balancing innovation with reflection is a challenge, particularly when managing B2C digital products or data-driven solutions in large organizations. While driving a project, it’s easy to miss the subtle dynamics at play. However, I firmly believe that when I reflect on my work objectively—free from ego and emotional attachment—I can truly learn from successes and failures.
The framework is there to guide me and my readers, but it is the willingness to pause, question assumptions, and view things with clarity that will enable one to make smarter decisions in the future. The ultimate goal is to proactively reflect and apply these lessons, shaping a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and empowerment within your teams.
By recognizing the unknowns and fostering a mindset of curiosity, one can not only avoid the traps of the past but also set the foundation for future success.