Introduction: Not Everything That Matters Can Be Measured
Product thinking is structured.
It’s roadmaps, metrics, user stories, validation cycles.
It’s clarity, prioritization, delivery.
Poetry, on the other hand, feels different.
It’s rhythm, metaphor, emotion, silence.
It captures what cannot be fully explained.
But here’s what I’ve learned after years in product strategy, innovation, writing, and cross-industry work:
The best product thinking has something poetic inside it.
Because products are not just systems.
They are experiences.
And experiences are emotional before they are rational.
1️⃣ Product Thinking Solves Problems. Poetic Thinking Reveals Meaning.
Product thinking asks:
- What problem are we solving?
- What is the user journey?
- What are the metrics?
Poetic thinking asks:
- What does this mean to the user?
- What identity does this reinforce?
- What feeling does this create?
When you combine both, you move from building functional tools to building resonant experiences.
📌 Metrics tell you what is happening.
Metaphor helps you understand why it matters.
2️⃣ Metaphor Is a Strategic Tool
In high-level product discussions, especially across technical and non-technical teams, clarity often comes from metaphor.
Instead of saying:
“We need a modular architecture with layered onboarding logic.”
You might say:
“We’re building a house. The foundation must feel solid before we decorate.”
Suddenly, alignment improves.
Complexity becomes human.
I’ve used metaphors to:
- Align cross-cultural teams
- Simplify portfolio decisions
- Clarify positioning
- Shift stakeholder perception
📌 Metaphor reduces friction. It accelerates shared understanding.
3️⃣ Poetic Thinking Strengthens Customer-Centricity
We talk a lot about being customer-centric.
But dashboards alone do not create empathy.
Poetic thinking invites you to imagine:
- The moment a user opens your app late at night
- The anxiety behind a purchasing decision
- The quiet frustration in a confusing interface
- The aspiration driving a premium upgrade
When you design with this depth of imagination,
your product becomes more than usable.
It becomes intentional.
4️⃣ Structure and Sensitivity Can Coexist
There’s a myth in business that logic and creativity are opposites.
They aren’t.
Structure gives direction.
Sensitivity gives depth.
In product leadership, I’ve found that:
- Analytical rigor builds credibility
- Creative intuition builds differentiation
The magic happens when both are present in the same room.
📌 Precision without imagination builds efficiency.
Imagination without structure builds chaos.
Together, they build innovation.
5️⃣ The Future of Product Is Emotional Intelligence
Automation will handle repetitive logic.
AI will optimize efficiency.
Data will continue to scale.
What will remain uniquely human?
The ability to:
- Tell better stories
- Design with empathy
- Understand nuance
- Create meaning
That is poetic thinking.
And it belongs inside product strategy, not outside it.
Final Thought: Build Like an Engineer, Think Like a Poet
You don’t need to write verses to think poetically.
You need to:
- Notice emotion
- Value nuance
- Use metaphor
- Design for identity
- Respect silence
Because the products that endure are not only the ones that work well.
They are the ones that feel right.
And feeling right is not an accident.
It is designed, deliberately, by leaders who understand that business is not only about systems.
It is about people.
The portfolio mindset 