32. Diderot doesn’t want to go into production

THE STORY GOES THAT, in 1769, Denis Diderot (a leader of the French Revolution) wrote “Regret at disposing of an old dressing gown.”

Why would someone regret getting rid of a dressing gown?

It turns out that, upon buying a new dressing gown, he noticed that the rest of his wardrobe no longer matched the elegant newly acquired garment.

Over time, he also noticed that the furniture in his house didn’t match the new dressing gown either.

The issue is that he renewed everything he could, but not without increasing anguish. He couldn’t enjoy the harmony between the new objects and the ones he already had.

The anguish of constant dissatisfaction trying to make all his belongings match his new dressing gown. The anguish of not knowing where to stop or how to do it.

“I was the absolute master of my old dressing gown (…) but I have become a slave to the new (…) Beware of the contamination of sudden wealth. The poor man may take his ease without thinking of appearances, but the rich man is always under a strain.”

It all started with the dressing gown. Diderot no longer felt like its owner; now, the dressing gown owned him.

This is known as the “Diderot Effect.” Yes, that feeling you also have has a name.

This urge to collect, accumulate, and feel dissatisfied with the stock of possessions, like cursed Diogenes, challenges and demands from us.

The same goes for the scope of our projects (and our tasks). When is it enough? When does the urge to accumulate features, details, artifacts cease? How much functionality is enough?

When do we go into production?

The best antidote for the Diderot Effect is to start with a clearly defined goal that contributes to reducing or eliminating a clearly defined problem. Goals align.

Don’t do anything if you don’t know the goal you want to achieve. Never.

Socialize the goal. Expose the goal. Communicate the goal. Show it, make a visible sign with the goal. Tattoo the goal. 😊

Another point to be clear about is that every feature of the product, by nature, is waste… No one should accumulate waste.