The tragedy of most product organizations is that a 3 week delay for a product launch will cause much greater stress & scrutiny than an ill-conceived feature in the very same product.

The difference between the two?

A delay is immediately visible to everyone, an ill-conceived feature is obvious only to the discerning product eye.

A delay is rarely consequential, an ill-conceived feature left undetected can profoundly damage the product’s prospects.

Show me a product team that proudly & precisely hits all of its release dates and I will show you a team that excessively pads its schedule and cares more about internal impression management than product impact.