The product mindset: A blueprint for legacy brands in a world that won’t wait

The companies outpacing everyone else—from fintech to fashion—share a common trait: they think and operate like modern product organisations.

They don’t chase perfection.

They test, learn, and iterate.

They’re structured around the customer journey, not internal silos. And they build cultures where experimentation isn’t just allowed—it’s expected.

This isn’t just a tech play. It’s an operating model. And for legacy brands, it requires rewiring how work gets done—from team structures and technology to leadership mindset.

Legacy brands don’t need to become tech startups overnight—but they do need to adopt the operating principles of product-forward organisations. This means building for change, not just for scale. Below is a deeper look at what that transformation really entails:

1. Reorganise around customer value, not channels

Most legacy organisations are structured by function or channel (e.g., marketing, IT, sales), leading to fragmented ownership of the customer experience. Instead, restructure teams around end-to-end customer journeys or specific use cases. Create cross-functional pods—design, engineering, product, data, and operations—that own outcomes, not just tasks.

Try this: Start with one flagship journey (e.g., digital onboarding or product discovery) and assign a dedicated team with autonomy and KPIs tied to customer success.

2. Accelerate your decision loop

Legacy brands often struggle with slow decision-making due to layers of approvals, risk aversion, or hierarchical governance. In contrast, product organizations empower teams to ship fast and own the results.

Try this: Shift from centralised approval committees to guardrails-based governance—empower teams to make decisions within clearly defined boundaries (brand, security, compliance) and measure impact continuously.

3. Modernise your tech stack with modularity in mind

Outdated, monolithic systems make experimentation nearly impossible. Legacy brands need to shift to composable, API-first architectures that support rapid prototyping, modular updates, and personalised experiences at scale. But beyond speed, modern systems should also empower the teams closest to the customer—especially marketers—to launch, adapt, and optimise experiences without heavy reliance on centralised development teams.

Try this: Prioritise developing a digital experience platform layer—composed of best-in-class tools for content, experimentation, analytics, and personalisation—that sits above your core systems.

4. Measure progress through product-led metrics

Traditional metrics—like campaign impressions or project completion dates—don’t tell you if you’re creating real value. Product-forward brands measure engagement, retention, NPS, feature adoption, and time to value.

Try this: Define a “North Star Metric” that reflects your brand’s digital promise to customers (e.g., number of successful account activations, repeat transactions, personalised content consumption) and align teams around moving it.

5. Make learning a competitive advantage

In high-velocity environments, learning is the only moat. But many legacy companies treat failure as a reputational risk rather than a growth lever. A product mindset embraces safe-to-fail experimentation—small bets, rapid feedback loops, and clear learnings.

Try this: Run “learning sprints” where teams test a hypothesis in 2–3 weeks using a prototype, no-code tool, or simulated environment. Share results org-wide, win or lose.

6. Invest in culture change as much as tech change

Tooling and restructuring won’t matter if the mindset doesn’t shift. Leaders must model the behaviours they want to scale—curiosity over certainty, velocity over control, and experimentation over perfection.

Try this: Build rituals into the operating rhythm—like monthly demo days, experiment retrospectives, and team-led “state of the product” briefings—to normalise iteration and reward progress, not polish.