If you’re a product person, a marketer, someone working on strategic initiatives — or if you wear multiple hats — here's a potent tool for your arsenal:
Reverse engineering success.
Sounds like a buzzphrase. And to an extent it is.
But it’s also a powerful skill.
Forward Mode
Typically, even the sharpest minds approach planning like this:
Goal → Resources → Actions
- Define the goal.
- Assess available resources.
- Determine actions to achieve the goal using these resources.
Often enough, this works. Kinda.
But there’s a more interesting way to approach problems.
Reverse Engineering
The more creative approach looks like this:
Success Definition → Success Criteria → Successful Process → Resources → (adjusted) Actions
- What does success look like?
- In a scenario where we are successful, what specific events have occurred?
- What processes are necessary to achieve these outcomes?
- What resources do we have?
- How can we adapt our actions to align closely with the ideal process?
The key difference lies in the interaction between process and actions:
- In forward mode, actions dictate the process.
- In reverse engineering, a detailed, goal-derived process informs the actions.
The iPhone
… is a classic outcome of reverse engineering.
Instead of setting sales or market share goals and then building the best possible product within constraints, Steve Jobs flipped the script.
He envisioned a revolutionary phone that would redefine human-technology interaction, requiring a sleek design and a novel user interface small enough to fit in a pocket.
This vision shaped the entire development process: abandoning conventional designs, innovating the user experience, and prioritizing aesthetics.
So Apple brought together resources from all over the company, including the iPod and Mac teams. They created a new way to work together to make sure everyone followed this planned process.
Reverse Engineering Your Life
Your life can be reverse-engineered too. Instead of vaguely aiming for arbitrary five-year goals, consider:
- What does your ideal life entail?
- What are its components?
- What steps lead there over time?
- What resources are currently at your disposal?
- What immediate actions can you take to progress toward your vision?
Starting with the end in mind can dramatically change the game.
