Why Ordinary Product Management Can’t Build Extraordinary Growth
In today’s competitive digital world, doing things thenormal way won’t make your business extraordinary. Most startups and product managers follow a traditional path, safe, predictable, and comfortable. But if you want to achieve extraordinary growth and stand out in your industry, you need to think and act differently.
As we teach at HelloSM, the best Scrum Master training institute in India, growth comes from bold strategies, unique thinking, and relentless execution not from following the same playbook as everyone else. Let’s explore how unconventional thinking in product management (or even in Scrum leadership) can help your business scale far beyond average results.
Think Like an Outlier, Not Like the Crowd
Here’s a hard truth: only a small percentage of businesses scale beyond survival. According to multiple startup studies, less than 0.1% reach $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). That means only one in a thousand founders or product managers manages to build something that truly scales. So, what makes them different? They don’t follow “best practices” blindly; they experiment, take creative risks, and question everything.
At HelloSM, our Certified Scrum Master training in India emphasizes exactly this: being curious, challenging assumptions, and continuously improving your process. Whether you’re managing a tech product, a SaaS business, or an Agile team, your mindset has to shift from playing safe to playing smart.
The Power of “Weird” Product Management
In Scrum, we often say: “Inspect, adapt, and improve. But in reality, most teams inspect but never adapt. They run retrospectives, but continue doing the same things. That’s what keeps them normal. True leaders who eventually become the best Scrum Masters in India use retrospectives to break comfort zones. They try unconventional experiments like restructuring sprint goals, testing new collaboration tools, or redefining how feedback loops work. The founders of Airbnb did something similar. They didn’t follow the normal path of hotel platforms. They photographed listings themselves, engaged directly with customers, and made personal connections. Their “weird” obsession turned into a $100 billion company. In Agile product management, that’s what “abnormal” looks like: deep customer focus, continuous experimentation, and fearless innovation.
Practical Ways to Add Unconventional Thinking to Your Roadmap
Let’s turn this mindset into action. Here are three powerful steps to apply “abnormal” product thinking in your business or Agile projects.
Step 1: Redefine What Success Means
Most teams focus on surface-level metrics, downloads, traffic, or sign-ups. Successful leaders focus on retention, engagement, and real value.If you’re a Scrum Master, ask: Are my team members improving sprint by sprint? Are we delivering business outcomes, not just features? Are our users truly delighted with what we build? At HelloSM, we train Scrum Masters to measure impact, not output. That’s how you move from average delivery to exceptional performance.
Step 2: Say “No” More Often
Ordinary leaders say yes to every feature request or trend. But extraordinary leaders know when to say no. If a feature doesn’t align with your product vision, skip it. If a meeting doesn’t add value, cancel it. Agile is about focus doing less but doing it better. Even successful startups like Basecamp scaled by simplifying their product instead of complicating it. Their founders rejected unnecessary growth hacks and stuck to what mattered most user experience. So, ask yourself: Is your roadmap filled with things that make your product unique, or just “normal”?
Step 3: Build a Team That Believes in the “Weird”
Culture is everything. You can’t scale with a team that fears change. Hire people who think differently, challenge decisions, and question processes. At HelloSM, we help Scrum Masters cultivate a mindset of experimentation and psychological safetyso teams feel safe sharing bold ideas. A culture that celebrates “smart risks” always outpaces one that avoids mistakes. Remember Slack’s story: it started as a failed game. But the team pivoted, focused on communication tools, and created one of the biggest collaboration platforms in the world, all because they embraced “weird” feedback and experiments.
Stay True When the World Questions You
Being different attracts criticism. When you think differently, people might call you unrealistic or stubborn. But that’s part of leadership. The best Scrum Masters in Hyderabad and across India are not the ones who simply follow Scrum ceremonies they’re the ones who drive real transformation. They protect the team from distractions, inspire creativity, and keep their focus on delivering value. So when others question your “weird” ideas, remind yourself that normal never scales. Keep your focus, track your progress, and stay committed to long-term excellence.
Embrace Your Outlier Edge
Normal thinking leads to predictable outcomes. But you’re not here for “normal,” are you? You’re here to build something remarkable to lead teams that innovate, create impact, and grow faster than the competition. That’s what the **best Scrum Master training institute in Hyderabad, HelloSM stands for. We train leaders to think beyond frameworks, build adaptive mindsets, and lead with creativity. Your journey as a Scrum Master or product manager isn’t about fitting in it’s about standing out.
If you want to scale your product or team, stop doing what everyone else does. Challenge the norms. Take smart risks. Build a culture that thrives on experimentation and ownership. The path to extraordinary growth starts with one decision, choose to be the outlier, not the ordinary. Join HelloSM, the best Scrum Master institute in India, and learn how to lead teams that innovate, deliver, and scale without limits.