Change Happens: Thoughts on Product Evolution
Why our new look is a big deal for SkySlope (and what it means for the future)
In 1956, Elvis Presley swung his hips and shocked the world with his “vulgarity.” He was slammed by TV critics, cameramen were instructed to only film from the waist up, and the Catholic church put out an article titled, “Beware Elvis Presley.”
20 years ago:
- Kids didn’t have cell phones.
- Meeting someone online was considered shady and dangerous.
- Entering your credit card number on the internet was strongly cautioned against.
Now, hip thrusts go unnoticed. Children reportedly receive their first cellphone between the ages of 10 and 12. Twenty percent of current, committed relationships begin online and more than 80 percent of people are making purchases on the internet.
The old adage that “nothing can be certain, except death and taxes” literally means everything will change.
Change is inevitable. It’s constant. And we can’t evolve without it.
Sometimes it takes months for people to accept change. Other times, you try something once and become an unofficial brand ambassador. Regardless, innovations and concepts that seem absurd, risky, or unnecessary, often turn out to be no big deal. People adapt and the world moves on.
My favorite example of this is the iPhone. Through every change and new release, people have been up in arms, claiming this terrible change will be the end of the iPhone, predicting a mass exodus away from Apple.
Here’s a short list of iPhone updates critics have freaked out about over the years:
- Relocating the the power button and headphone jack
- Removing the rotation/mute toggle switch
- Changing the charging cables
- Making the home button static
- Changing the headphone input
Before every release, I would read harsh opinion pieces on the rumored updates and consider why Apple would make such seemingly pointless changes. So when I unboxed my brand new phone, peeled off the plastic, and turned it on, I would be, predictably, annoyed at the differences. However, after about a week of fumbling, something would click. I stopped noticing the changes. So much so, that I completely forgot about the the way things used to be and couldn’t imagine things any other way. Oh, and those scathing reviews? They were buried in last week’s news.
When it comes to change, there will always be resistance and skepticism. Even the best ideas — the cure for cancer, solving hunger, creating world peace — will bring out the critics. Someone, somewhere (if not many people, everywhere) will rain on the damn parade. People will predict failure. They’ll promise the results will be far worse and widespread than the current situation.
But despite the negativity and baseless theories, eventual acceptance and sometimes even delight will prevail.
Recently, SkySlope made some pretty big design changes. On the surface, this much needed update modernized the look and added consistency throughout the platform. Naturally, these changes were met with their share of criticism.
We understand there’s an adjustment period and change isn’t always welcomed by everyone right away. But we also know that there’s a difference between intentional improvements and lipstick on a pig.
The visual changes support our ultimate objective — to create an optimized launchpad for incredible new features and integrations.
People originally invested in SkySlope because we were thought leaders. As a technology company, driven to innovate, it’s our job to stay ahead of the curve. When you look at SkySlope, you see an incredibly powerful platform with the best features of any transaction management software on the market.
You also see a company that values greatness — if it’s good, let’s make it great. If it’s great, let’s make it exceptional. Everything we do is in the best interest of our customers and in order to do that, we have to continue to develop new and better processes.
When we look back at history, we see thought leaders making bold changes to create a better future.
When we evolve, we thrive. So will you.
