Why 40% of Products Fail—and How to Fix It

What this episode covers

In this episode of Gaining the Technology Leadership Edge, Mike sits down with Dave Fradin, a former Apple executive, HP-trained product manager, and founder of Spice Catalyst, to unpack why so many products fail—and how leaders can dramatically improve their odds of success. David shares insights from decades of experience launching and managing products at scale, including his work bringing the first hard disk drive to a personal computer and training global organizations like Cisco. He introduces the SPICE framework—Strategy, Process, Information, Customer, and Employees—as a practical system for building products that actually succeed in the market. The discussion explores why nearly 40% of new products fail despite massive investment, and how common mistakes like top-down market sizing, weak processes, poor customer understanding, and untrained teams quietly sabotage outcomes. David explains why asking customers what they want leads to misleading answers, and why true innovation comes from understanding what customers are trying to do, when they do it, and what gets in their way. Using concrete examples—from failed WiFi devices to a detailed breakdown of a frustrating airport experience—David shows how observing real behavior reveals opportunities that surveys and assumptions miss. The episode also touches on AI, product bias, and the limits of data-driven innovation when “unknown unknowns” aren’t visible. Key takeaways include: Why product success requires systems, not heroics How to apply SPICE across products and services What real customer understanding actually looks like Why process discipline reduces failure, blame, and waste

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