The One Thing Duct Tape Can’t Fix

I've seen teams try to "duct tape" their way through almost every innovation challenge.

Budget constraints? Duct tape a workaround.
Technical problems? Duct tape a temporary solution.
Team conflicts? Duct tape over the dysfunction.

To be clear, I’ve done my share of duct tape fixes too.

And honestly? Sometimes duct tape works brilliantly. I've watched scrappy teams create breakthrough solutions with nothing but resourcefulness and creative problem-solving.

But there's one thing duct tape can’t fix: unclear direction.

You can patch processes and MacGyver technical solutions all day long. But if your team doesn't understand where they're going or why they're going there, all that duct tape just holds together a patchwork disaster.

I've seen this pattern across multiple industries - brilliant teams with impressive duct tape skills spinning their wheels because no one ever connected the dots between customer needs, business objectives, and operational realities.

The irony? The fix doesn’t start with more resources or better processes. It starts with a conversation that triangulates what customers actually need, what the business can realistically achieve, and what operations can deliver. When those three points align, direction becomes clear.

Like on the racetrack, product development requires looking through the corner, not at it.

Duct tape can help you navigate around problems (or stick things back on the bike), but it can't give you vision.