Discover Mindfully

18. Evaluate societal usefulness

Why does it matter?

Digital products make a tangible impact on people and the Earth, so it is important to consider the societal impact of what we create. Historically, many companies have focused primarily on financial returns. Now, it has become more common to prioritize the triple bottom line, and begin ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) reporting. However, these efforts are sometimes disjointed or exclude other important considerations.

Product managers have the power to create profitable products that help society and reduce harm to the environment simultaneously, rethinking how to solve a problem entirely with radical innovation. Using systems thinking, a product manager can ensure that a single investment (or product) will solve multiple problems. This is called multisolving.

What can I do?

Leverage the 5 whys method to dial into why a product or feature is needed.
Try to align your vision with at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Engage as many stakeholders and communities as possible to gather input, assess societal needs, and then incorporate their perspectives into the solution design.
Communicate your commitments to employees, investors, clients, and other stakeholders.
Embed sustainability into your path to commercial success early. Treat it as a value driver and unique selling proposition (USP), especially for B2B and regulated industries.
Apply a multi-solver lens to design solutions that address both user needs and broader societal or environmental goals.
Scan for potential harm early and identify and mitigate unintended social or environmental risks during discovery.
Pilot with impacted communities first. Test ideas with those most affected by environmental and social challenges to ensure equity and relevance.

What does success look like?

🌍💰 A clearly articulated vision and mission underscoring commitment to societal and global challenges
🌍 Collective efforts to gauge and reduce ecological footprints
💰 Employee retention reflecting a positive and sustainable work environment

Things to consider

We recommend considering a product’s societal impact alongside profitability, before launching a new product (or new features for an existing product). You can do this by considering the planet during the strategic planning phase 6 - Include the planet in your brief. At a higher level, you can try framing your vision for the product and for your organization using the SDG framework (or equivalent) Set environmental OKRs.

If your business vision or mission doesn’t align with an SDG, take a moment to evaluate its impact on society, people, and the planet. Every business is part of a larger interconnected system. See more about this in the following best practice Anticipate consequences.