This is the final article in a three-part series from Matt Moss, Sibi's Head of Product. He breaks down how we approach product at Sibi, from identifying the systemic issues many SaaS companies face to how we innovate and build solutions, and what we seek in a great product manager. Matt will share his insights into what sets us apart and how we stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry.

What values do we look for in our product teams?

Creating a common language for a psychologically safe environment is an important step in establishing a healthy culture of innovation within our cross-functional teams. This language takes two forms:

1. Values - the character traits or qualities that individuals across our teams should embody. These shape who we are and how we show up for each other and our customers.
2. Principles - the operational guidelines or rules of engagement for how we work. These create consistency in our approach and help us make decisions that align with our broader objectives.

Together, these values and principles form the foundation of how we approach product development at Sibi. They’re intended to help guide everything from our daily interactions to our strategic decisions, helping the teams maintain high standards while fostering an environment where innovation can thrive. While processes and tools may evolve, these core tenets remain constant, ensuring we stay true to who we are.

Let's explore what these look like in practice, starting with the values we seek in our product teams...

Optimism over pessimism

Don’t let pessimism hinder innovation; every idea can sound bad at first.

A sense of play

‍Fun and work should coexist. Fun builds team bonds that foster resilience, creativity, and collaboration.

Dream big

We start new ideas with “what if” and give ourselves time to explore, all while keeping a clear end goal in mind.

Curiosity

‍We don’t just build ideas handed to us; we relentlessly ask questions, even when we think we know the answers. It’s about understanding how our users think, behave, and what motivates their actions.

Empathy

Prioritize understanding the user's perspective to ensure product decisions center around genuine user needs and experiences.

Adaptability‍

Embrace change and pivot strategies based on feedback and evolving market conditions, ensuring flexibility in facing challenges.

Transparency for the good AND bad

Maintain open communication within the team, sharing both successes and setbacks honestly.

Collaborative spirit‍

Foster a culture of teamwork where ideas and responsibilities are shared. Encourage collaboration across teams to unify goals and leverage diverse expertise.

Accountability

Encourage team members to own their roles and contributions, understanding how their actions impact the broader team and product success, without fear of failure.

Resilience + conviction

Cultivate the ability to withstand setbacks and accept constructive criticism, knowing it isn’t personal. Resilience encourages perseverance in challenges.

Strategic risk-taking

Encourage calculated risks to innovate and capture new opportunities, recognizing that not every risk will lead to success, but all will provide valuable learnings.

An understanding of business impact

TL;DR – Understand revenue. We partner with our sales and marketing counterparts to ensure we consider the business impact of everything we invest in.

Craftsmanship

Our commitment goes beyond functionality to allow space for delight—the little extras that make our products not just functional but something our customers truly want to use.

Challenge convention

We challenge conventional wisdom and question established norms to forge new paths when and where it makes sense.

What are the principles that guide how we work with teams across the business?

Ideas can come from anywhere

We gather insights from both bottom-up and top-down perspectives to drive customer value and set priorities.

Failure is part of the process

If we’re not failing, we’re not making decisions or learning.

Prioritize learning over getting it right the first time

If we don’t have data, we trust our subject matter experts and move forward with what we know, then gather real-world insights.

Systems over goals

Instead of fixating on specific outcomes, we focus on the habits and healthy behaviors that help us reach our goals and sustain progress.

Async first

Emphasize asynchronous work over constant interruptions.

Involve critical folks early and often

Engineering, Customer Success, Program teams, and other stakeholders are involved from the start of a research cycle to provide insights based on their unique customer interactions.

Speed is our competitive advantage

We use time as a forcing function to continuously ship and prevent over-investment while remaining flexible to accommodate the right solutions.

Strong opinions, loosely held

We aim to make the best decisions based on the information available at that point in time, expecting adjustments as we gain new insights.

Build trust through feedback

We value continuous, actionable feedback from one another, fostering open dialogue to enhance our collective workflow. The goal is to address challenges promptly through honest, empathetic conversations, preventing minor issues from escalating.

Culture of shopping

We actively seek diverse perspectives to refine our thinking and pressure test our assumptions

Shitty first drafts

We share work in progress, even when it feels too early or incomplete. Early exposure and feedback cycles lead to better outcomes than perfecting in isolation.

Meetings to solve problems, not for status updates

We preserve synchronous time for collaborative problem-solving and decision-making. Status updates belong in async channels where they can be consumed and processed efficiently

Lead with wonder

Frame discussions with "I wonder..." to open up collaborative exploration rather than prescriptive solutions. This simple phrase transforms statements into invitations for dialogue, encouraging others to share their perspectives and creating space for collective problem-solving

What is our approach to continuous discovery and delivery?

The values and principles above define who we are and how we work together at Sibi. But how do these come to life in practice? Our continuous discovery and delivery framework provides the structure for where these ideas take shape.

Think of it this way: if our values and principles are the soul of how we work, this framework is the body - the tangible process where we exercise these ideals daily. From leading with wonder during opportunity assessment, to challenging convention in solution generation, to embracing "shitty first drafts" in our iterative delivery - each phase of our process is strengthened by our core beliefs.

This table is intended to provide a light framework for how we drive invention at Sibi, based on Nate Walkingshaw’s Directed Discovery. The key takeaway is that we push towards the right outputs, rather than rigidly following the process. (The process of invention is not a straight line).

In the end, building great products isn't just about what we build—it's about how we build them. These values and principles come to life in our daily work. They influence how we assess opportunities, gather customer insights, generate solutions, and measure impact. But perhaps most importantly, they create an environment where great ideas can flourish, where failure is seen as learning, and where innovation isn't just encouraged—it's expected.

In an industry that moves as quickly as ours, having a strong cultural foundation isn't just nice to have—it's essential for sustainable success. By staying true to these values and principles, we ensure that as we grow and evolve, we'll continue to build products that matter, with teams that thrive.

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At Sibi, our values drive our innovation, ensuring we build products that truly resonate with our users. By prioritizing empathy, adaptability, and collaboration, we create a culture where creativity thrives and challenges become opportunities. Thank you for joining us on this journey through our product philosophy! If you enjoyed this series, don’t forget to follow Matt on LinkedIn for more insights! 👋