These words come to me as I reflect on the quality of life available today and the likely trajectory so long as mindsets continue to exist that foster standards as reprehensible as the co-opted minimum viable product. The purpose of this essay, no matter how futile the effort may be, is to kill minimum viable product because it is misused to the point where it has become poisonous to civilized culture and antithetical to multi-species flourishing.
Imagine visiting a restaurant and overhearing the chefs in the kitchen discussing their truly diabolical plan to offer the "minimum edible product" to their customers so they could learn what people are willing to eat. Disgusting. Who knows what unimaginable bile would be unknowingly consumed by the innocent victims of such twisted intentions. At the very least this would likely not be somewhere many of us would be willing to give our business to, that is if we even knew what kind of spectacular malice went into their ruthless negligence. For contrast imagine the competitors to the purveyors of minimum effort, those who thoughtfully pour their care and attention to detail into their outputs, prioritizing enduring value, and creating experiences that resonate long after the transaction is complete. The competitor may be justified to charge higher prices or even have a waitlist and generate positive word of mouth because their sensational effort and execution is so appealing. The minimum effort business may be able to offer something faster or cheaper but not necessarily better or higher quality because their attitude is positioned towards cutting corners so they are more inclined to settle for mediocrity only to achieve short term gratification.Staying with the restaurant metaphor a little more, although I haven’t had very many fine dining experiences of those that I have had, it’s so incredibly apparent that every single person on the team cares about the experience they’re giving their audience. In those instances I think to myself something like “wow I want to be on a team like this.”
Worst of all perhaps, among the most negligent and careless operators as detractors, they’ll read this and vilify me as being just another cliché perfectionist who doesn’t know when to be satisfied with “good enough” or how to comply with imposed constraints. I don’t actually think perfection is a bad thing or something not worth pursuing however it is not necessarily what I’m advocating for. My alternative guidance is I think more cliché but simple, to truly just do your absolute best with the time you have instead of doing the bare minimum and slapping a minimum viable product sticker on everything.
Like the billions of microplastics coursing through the veins of life on earth, by any reasonable standard, this is no way to live. Those of us privileged enough to create experiences for others who seek to improve their quality of life, if we are lucky, also add to the meaning of life and should not be so misguided only by indescribable greed to neglect what we put into the world
Is an overall higher quality of life not just for humanity really so unattainable? For anyone who thinks this I would say as many others would, go to Japan. No country is perfect but it is unarguable that the baseline experience of just about every aspect of life from dining to public services are fundamentally higher quality that what you will find just about anywhere in America.
A Eulogy for minimum viable product
The past life of minimum viable product
Here we gather to recognize the lean merit–however fraught–of the minimum viable product approach and how far it pushed the product development industry. In our reflection we also recognize the opportunities to improve.
The concept of the Minimum Viable Product, or MVP, emerged from the Lean Startup methodology as a way to test ideas quickly and minimize wasted effort in product development. At its inception, it carried noble intentions and untold impact: to streamline innovation, empower creators with limited resources, and reduce the cost of failure in an uncertain market. However, as it became a standard practice, its principles were often misinterpreted, co-opted and misapplied, reducing it to a tool for fraught haste rather than a thoughtful framework for progress. What began as a pragmatic tool has too often devolved into a justification for mediocrity, where ‘minimum’ overtakes ‘viable’ in significance. In prioritizing speed over substance, widespread adoption of so-called “MVP” has fostered a culture of disposability, eroding trust and alienating the very audiences it seeks to serve.
Let us look optimistically towards future generations of higher quality. May you not die in vein for your contributions were many but you were misused by circumstances beyond your control.
Rest in Peace Minimum Viable Product 2011-2025
Alternatives
While the MVP mindset has dominated many industries, there are alternative philosophies that offer a richer, more meaningful approach to creation. Let’s discuss a short list of a few alternatives.
An endless pursuit of excellence
If you are someone who already pursues a standard of excellence then of course this message isn’t for you or your mindset but if this approach somehow seems foreign to you then it is.
Unlike the dubious ne'er-do-well charlatans who settle for mediocrity, for some of us our very being is principally animated by an endless pursuit of excellence through our craft. For some this is natural and for others acquiring this mode needs to be a learned behavior but for the forsaken with their meandering heartless souls they are lost as they mercilessly subject their audiences to their greed fueled torture. Unfortunately, whether in an academic or industry setting, the sensibility aimed towards excellence is often either eroded or faces active opposition for example through false urgency. In an academic setting the humanities or trades tend to teach craft excellence intentionally however in some business or finance education perhaps this ethic is less likely to ever surface, though some still approach those lines of work with relentless effort and integrity. The effortful are sometimes derogatorily labeled as “perfectionists” while those more informed are well aware that there is actually no true perfection and the pursuit of perfection is often plenty, certainly more than the negligent alternatives will exercise.
Kodawari, Omotenashi and Wabi-Sabi
For approximately the last 500 years both kodawari and wabi-sabi have served as alternative frameworks to approach the philosophy of creation.
Kodawari is a philosophy rooted in the tradition of Japanese culture that refers to a relentless attention to detail and an uncompromising commitment to quality, pursued not for accolades but for its own inherent value. This mindset stands in stark opposition to the ethos of minimum viable product. Where MVP seeks to test the market with the least effort, kodawari demands that every offering—no matter how small—reflects care, precision, and respect for the audience. The influence can be felt throughout the world wherever this philosophy has traveled but it is of course particularly powerful pretty much anywhere if you visit Japan. From tea ceremonies, sushi-making, woodworking, architecture, the list goes on although similarly the wabi-sabi style of appreciation for imperfection is also relevant particularly so in the context of the pursuit of perfection rather than the outright deliberate settling on suboptimal experience.
Omotenashi extends these ideas from the act of making into the act of receiving. It is often described as hospitality, but that translation is incomplete. Omotenashi is the practice of anticipating needs without announcing them, of designing experiences that feel effortless precisely because immense care has already been taken behind the scenes. It is service without transaction, generosity without spectacle, and intention without expectation of recognition. Where kodawari governs the integrity of the craft itself, omotenashi governs the relationship between the work and those who encounter it. It rejects extractive, attention-seeking design that optimizes for engagement metrics or short-term conversion, and instead prioritizes trust, dignity, and long-term care. In this way, omotenashi reframes design not as persuasion or manipulation, but as stewardship—an ethical commitment to create environments and products that quietly support people, respect their time, and honor their presence without demanding anything in return.
The endless pursuit of excellence is not about achieving sterile perfection but about honoring the process. Wabi-sabi reminds us that beauty lies in the transient and the imperfect, in the marks left by a dedicated hand, in the uniqueness of a moment captured through care. Iteration does not have to mean rushing to deliver the bare minimum. Inspired by wabi-sabi, we can approach each stage of creation with care, treating it as a meaningful step in the product’s evolution rather than a disposable milestone.
| MVP | Kodawari, Wabi-Sabi, Omotenashi |
|---|---|
| Speed over quality | Quality over speed |
| Short-term focus | Long-term impact |
| Reactive iteration | Proactive creation |
How do we move forward?
Reject mediocrity in all its forms. Embrace the pursuit of excellence—not as an obligation but as an expression of care, integrity, as a justification for being and love for the world we shape.
Festina lente.