I believe in products that go beyond the ordinary to deliver memorable experiences. There’s so much clutter in the marketplace that merely competent functionality is, for the most part, a given. What matters more than ever are products which solve real problems in spectacular ways, creating deep meaning for users along the way. True product standouts come from people who take something and do it to the hilt.

Doing things to the hilt means going beyond what is “reasonable” or “expected” by the market. There’s a product development baseline out there which all know and recognize. This is the world of the Ford Taurus, Budweiser, and Taco Bell – all entities where advertising is used to create and push products, because the products largely can’t stand on their own. Why? Because each was developed to a specification of “market demands” laid out in a book, and the very act of writing guidelines down limits the potential for something wonderful happening. Some people call these specifications “critical to quality” metrics, or “CTQ” for short.

Screw CTQ. CTQ’s give us Velveeta, which is congealed boredom. Why not do things to the hilt instead? I want a rich, sublimating cheese that makes my nostrils flip out and my tongue go furry. How about replacing CTQ metrics with “Way Beyond Critical to Quality” (WBCTQ)? We need more people creating things born out of intense, total passion. Making things remarkable. Surprising. Blow-your-hair-back-and-part-it-down-the-middle-wow. Way Beyond Critical to Quality.