4 / There's magic in collaboration

Welcome to Issue 4!

Someone commented on one of our shorts this week that they actively avoid sharing lo-fi iterations early with stakeholders.

That hurts my soul.

I genuinely feel for this person. One of the toughest challenges in working with stakeholders or clients is demystifying the product process. To them, it can all seem like magic.

I completely empathize with the Sisyphean task of continually educating others just so collaboration can be productive. It's hard, often thankless work. But if we push through that discomfort, there’s a moment, however small, when you start to feel the spark of real collaboration.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know everything. Without the subject matter expertise of my non-product teammates, how could I possibly build something that maps meaningfully to their domain?

It’s in those shared moments, when we teach each other about our respective worlds, that things come alive. We remix old ideas, reframe them in new contexts, or dream up something entirely novel. Together, we create realities that didn’t exist before.

Now, I know I can get a little starry-eyed about this stuff. But the truth is: people are hard. And that’s what I saw between the lines in that original comment. But people are also magic. Their lived experiences allow us to see the world through new lenses, and help us reach heights we’d never get to on our own.

So, as you head into your next round of collaboration, take a moment. Look around. Look at the humans. And remember how lucky we are to be building things with them.

Let’s get Technically Lit,

Nick

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