Contributed by Dr. Boniface Pascalraj who leads the incubation program at SSN iFound. This article was first published in his personal blog.
Being part of a team, especially in a startup, means every ounce of effort matters. Your growth depends on seamless teamwork, and equally seamless products. This is where the story of Keerthy (name changed), and the pitfalls of high-maintenance behavior, draws a direct parallel to the need for intuitive product design.
Keerthy’s Way: The Distraction Dilemma
Keerthy was talented and passionate, but she became the definition of “high maintenance.” Meetings revolved around her, schedules shifted for her convenience, priorities were constantly reinforced, and deadlines slipped. The rest of the team tiptoed around her, investing energy into managing her needs instead of creating value. Morale and momentum quietly dropped, and frustration rose.
Relating to Product Design:
Think of a product that appears innovative but demands constant troubleshooting, long manuals, and “handle with care” instructions. Just as Keerthy’s behavior monopolized team energy, a clunky, high-maintenance product forces users to focus on managing the tool—rather than achieving their goals.
The True Cost: Drained Morale, Missed Opportunities
- High-maintenance team members divert attention from core objectives, making collaboration frustrating.
- Complicated products drain users’ enthusiasm and push them away, no matter how impressive the underlying tech.
Both distract from the real mission: achieving outcomes.
Transformation: Embracing Low Maintenance
After tough project cycles, our team made a choice:
- Set clear standards. Everyone, including Keerthy, was expected to align with the group’s goals and deadlines.
- Reduced “management overhead”, the need for special attention, just as we would remove unnecessary steps in a product’s workflow.
- Reimagined our product with a “low maintenance” mindset: if a user needed a manual or tech support call, we had missed the mark.
Every improvement, whether in team collaboration or product features, was measured by how easy it made progress.
The result? Energy reclaimed, output maximized, and both team morale and user engagement soared.
The Analogy: High Maintenance Is the Hidden Enemy of Progress
Just as Keerthy’s unpredictable style hindered teamwork, a confusing product frustrates users and wastes their time.
What teams need from their members, users need from your product:
- Dependable, clear, and self-managed collaboration.
- Interfaces and workflows that “just work” without hand-holding.
The smartest founders build teams and products that multiply collective energy—not consume it in unnecessary management or troubleshooting.
Aspire for high standards, not high maintenance.
