In a recent LinkedIn post, Janna Bastow discusses a critical pitfall that can lead product teams astray: the consistent deferral of product discovery.
Bastow highlights the detrimental impact of prioritizing delivery pressure over foundational problem-solving, a trend she has observed leading many capable teams to slip into an “agency mode.” She emphasizes the urgency of addressing this issue before it becomes deeply ingrained.
“I’ll be blunt: If discovery keeps getting bumped ‘to next sprint,’ you’re already in trouble.”
As Janna Bastow points out, this pattern often signals a deeper problem within team workflows and roadmap management. The relentless focus on immediate output, she argues, can erode a team’s ability to innovate and truly understand user needs, a core component of effective product development.
The Slide into “Agency Mode”
Bastow elaborates on how constant delivery pressure can inadvertently transform product teams. Instead of proactively identifying and solving user problems, teams can become reactive, akin to an external agency fulfilling requests without deep strategic input. This shift, according to Bastow, is a sign of a team losing its way from its core product mission.
She states:
“I’ve watched too many great teams slowly slide into agency mode because delivery pressure ate every available moment.”
This phenomenon, Bastow suggests, is not an insurmountable obstacle but requires early intervention. The longer discovery is neglected, the harder it becomes to course-correct and re-establish a product-led approach.
Reclaiming the Product Roadmap
The core of Bastow’s message is that while the drift is common, it is fixable. She stresses the importance of recognizing the signs of this “drift” early on. According to Bastow, teams need mechanisms to actively protect and prioritize discovery work within their sprints and roadmaps.
Bastow advocates for a deliberate reset of the product roadmap to ensure that genuine problem-solving and user understanding are not casualties of delivery targets. She believes that by consciously reintroducing and safeguarding discovery time, teams can regain their focus on creating impactful products.
In her post, Bastow announces a live session aimed at helping teams identify this “drift,” reset their strategic direction, and reinvigorate their problem-solving capabilities.
“This is fixable… but only if you catch it early.”
Her insights serve as a crucial reminder for product leaders and teams to continually evaluate their processes and ensure that the foundational work of discovery remains a central, non-negotiable part of their development cycle.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Janna Bastow on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on January 6, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →