By no stretch of the imagination do I claim credit for having made something that lots of folks consider great (other than my kids). But we’re not talking about kids and as my wife will point out, I had only a modest role in that anyway. I’d like to talk about creating things that people use/consume. Products basically. Working in our little software startup we spend all our time either a) trying to make great stuff, or b) trying to help other folks make great stuff. Great doesn’t necessarily equate to popular, or commercially successful, but with the right patience and economic model I believe great always eventually finds an audience to support it.

Software and food are the realms from which I’ve gathered my observations. I’ve spent a lot of time using and making bad software. I’ve also spent a lot of time eating and cooking bad food. And once-in-awhile I’ve experienced great software and eaten great food. And once in a blue moon, I’ve even been minorly associated with those events. In my mind I’ve observed a clear pattern of how the great things come into being.

So, with full disclosure that we here at Jackson Fish are shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone else on this quest, I will share our perspective on how to get to great.

The “secret” is not really so secret as actually something that’s in plain sight but hard for everyone to grasp… it’s having an opinion. As they say… opinions are like assholes… but despite their lack of scarcity, they are the core to making something great.

To me “having an opinion” means the following:

• You have a vision for what the thing you’re creating should be like in the end. What it should look/smell/taste/feel like. Your vision is crystal clear. You can picture it in your head as if it was in front of you. You may have a hard time putting it into words or images that others understand but that picture sits in your head.
• That picture in your head is not just sitting there quietly… it’s on fire. It burns. It mocks you because you haven’t brought it to reality. You’re burning up trying to figure envision every tiny detail and plot your path to making it a reality.
• Your vision may or may not be of something that’s for your own use. Often people confuse passionate people with strong vision for people who just want to build something for themselves. Having an opinion that results in something great, and having that great thing be for you are not mutually exclusive, but they are distinct.
• You are emotional about your vision. I don’t mean you burst into tears, or start yelling about it, though I don’t exclude those possibilities. You may be a pretty non-demonstrative person in general, but your opinion on how things should be, on how this creation should exist stirs up strong intense feelings in your heart… but not always logical thoughts in your mind.
• Your opinion is authentic. It doesn’t have to be original, but it does have to come from a genuine place. If it doesn’t, you will never make something great because you don’t “feel” it. I’ve seen some of the best “parrots” in the world logically and even convincingly explain why we should follow one path over another. But after a little (or a lot of) digging it turns out that while they are thoughtful and smart people, ultimately they don’t really care deep down. Ultimately, these folks are playing a role, and not willing to really put their money where their mouth is to support their beliefs. When your opinion is genuine, when your vision is authentic, not everyone will agree, but they’ll know you are being honest and true.
• Your opinion is all-inclusive. Products that people love are typically not made up of one component. (Just like the best food I’ve tasted is often a melding of multiple ingredients on the plate, and multiple ingredients beyond the plate including the service, atmosphere, price, etc.) If you want to make something great, your vision has to be for every detail, no matter how small, of how someone is going to interact with your creation. End-to-end. You’ll know you’ve gotten the intensity right when the people around you start to give you funny looks.
• If you were to write down everything that came from your vision, values, and opinion on your creation, there would be a lot more written about what not to do, than about what to do. Choosing what your creation won’t be is even more important than what it will be. Standing firm on what you won’t do can be scary, but while you may alienate some constituencies, you will endear yourself to others. You can try to quantify the tradeoffs here as many professional marketers will try to do, but ultimately you have no choice but to stick with your heart. If you end up having chosen a path that resonates with a smaller audience, then that’s an economic challenge you’ll have to account for when you execute. But if you choose the other path, it may have a bigger audience but you’ll fail to make something great as you’re now groping around blind to make something, rather than listening to that voice in your head.
• Your opinion is not a consensus. Creation of most (though not all) things is a team sport. And you need to build a team of people who will help you create. You may even be lucky enough to find a few folks who deep down share your opinion. Share it genuinely in their hearts. They are your lifelong allies. They have your back. There will be other folks who recognize the passion, for whom the opinion resonates, and want to work hard to be a part of something special. You cannot succeed without them. They are invaluable.

Making something great starts with this all-consuming, all-inclusive opinion. But that’s not where it ends. In fact, this opinion is usually sitting there, fully formed (though likely not full revealed even to its owner) before anyone’s even heard the idea. This mythical opinionated person doesn’t spend all their time polishing their opinion, refining their vision, or pontificating on the merits of their idea. Instead they spend every moment, every second, (even when they’re asleep) plotting, scheming, planning how to realize their vision as reality. It’s too easy to point to Steve Jobs and Apple as examples when this topic comes up (damn him for shipping so much great stuff), but the following quote, often attributed to Jobs pretty much sums it up. “Real artists ship.” While your opinion may make you emotional, it’s going to take all your discipline to make it a reality and channel that emotion into getting it done.

Having an all-encompassing, laser-focused, opinion and a maniacal focus on executing on that vision are foundational. But the last ingredient for making something great may seem counter-intuitive… humility. Amidst all this passion and certainty you must be able to set your opinion down, and take advantage of others perspective on it. In short, you must have an open mind. This is hard. At some point, if you manage to realize your vision, you will put it in front of others. They will react. It will not be for everyone. Remember, this is about making something great, not something popular. And while I believe that there is always an audience for something great, that audience may be small, and it may take awhile to find your creation. And even when it does, you still may not have nailed it. They will tell you. And here you must strike a delicate balance. You must listen, digest, and incorporate their reactions into your vision… your opinions.

After all, your opinion arrived one day. It wasn’t always there, sitting in your mind perfect and pristine. It’s may be all-consuming, but it is not sacred. What’s sacred is that even after iteration it remains authentic. Among the multitude of opinions you receive, some will add to your perspective and can be incorporated into something you feel is genuine. And some need to be jettisoned. Much like what you say yes and no to in your original conception of your creation, you must repeat this process, endlessly sometimes, constantly shaping and reshaping your opinion until your core values as expressed in that creation resonate with a loyal audience. This can take some time. This can be a tough process for your ego. You may not have enough runway (economic or otherwise) to see it through. But if you can prize the iteration on your vision as just important as the inception of your creation then I believe your baby will find a home.

And when you have made something great, you may find that it resonates with a tiny group of loyal fans. Or you may find that you have legions of adoring crowds who adore what you’ve created (with their help). You may find that the organic size of that audience, and your ability to finance your creation based on that audience works or doesn’t. But at the end of the day, I don’t believe that almost anyone (and certainly i don’t) have the ability to reliably predict the failure or success of different creations. But what I can do, and what I encourage you to do, is to make something you’re incredibly proud of, make something you love. Not to be too foofy… but I genuinely believe the rest will follow.