Earlier this year, we killed a product feature that was 90% complete.
It was a face recognition for one of our smart locks. The R&D team had spent months on it. The capital expenditure was significant. The code was written.
Technically, it worked. The market data suggested it would drive short-term sales.
But there was a problem.
To use it, the resident had to pause and stare at a sensor for a few seconds.
I tested the prototype at my home. Every time I walked up to my door, I felt like I was being processed at airport security. I did not feel like I was entering my sanctuary.
It functioned. But it failed the DORIX test.
It was a gadget. It was not dignified.
We called a meeting in the War Room. The tension was high. The team wanted to launch because the work was done. They were looking at the sunk cost.
I looked at the brand equity.
We scrapped the project that afternoon. We absorbed the loss.
We redirected those resources into perfecting the encryption speed of ‘The Windsor’ instead. We chose invisible reliability over flashy friction.
A luxury brand is defined by what it refuses to do.
If it does not make the user feel like their home is their castle, it does not leave our factory.
Strategy is what you choose not to do. The Discipline of Focus.
