Product Prioritization: What Happens When Everything Becomes a P1

Key Takeaways

• When every task is marked “P1,” teams stop prioritizing and start surviving.

• Constant urgency leads to sloppy decisions, rushed UX, and growing design debt.

• Great products aren’t built by reacting — they’re built by choosing what truly matters.

• Real prioritization brings clarity, focus, and better outcomes for everyone.

• If your team can’t identify the one thing that moves the needle, the roadmap becomes chaos.

The Day Everything Suddenly Becomes a P1

Ever had one of those days where everything becomes urgent?

You open Slack and you're immediately hit with:

• PM: “This feature is a must-have.”

• Marketing: “We have a launch we can’t miss.”

• Engineering: “We’re blocked right now.”

• Leadership: “Can we redesign this by Friday?”

And just like that, your entire roadmap turns into a crisis center.

It feels like a fire drill nobody agreed to.

Why Product Prioritization Fails When Everything Is a P1

When every task is labeled “P1,” you’re not prioritizing.

You’re surviving.

And the fallout is predictable:

• Quality drops

• Decisions get sloppy

• UX turns into duct tape

• Design debt quietly explodes

• Teams feel “busy” but nothing meaningful moves

This isn’t because the team isn’t skilled enough.This is because the system is failing.

Teams can’t produce thoughtful work in a perpetual state of urgency.

Great Products Are Built Through Intentional Product Prioritization

The truth no one wants to say out loud:

If everything is important… nothing is.

Great products aren’t built by doing fourteen things “right now.”

They’re built by identifying:

• the one workflow that unlocks everything

• the bug that unblocks multiple teams

• the feature that moves the needle

• the improvement that reduces friction for thousands of users

This is where Product Prioritization becomes a strategic advantage instead of a panic button.

What Happens When Teams Slow Down and Prioritize Properly

Every time I help a team slow down and pick true priorities, everything changes:

• Clarity shows up

• Pace smooths out

• The noise disappears

• Quality improves

• People breathe again

• Leaders stop firefighting and start leading
  

Suddenly the team stops feeling like they’re drowning with a to-do list.

They start owning their product again.

If Everything Is a Priority… Your Team Is Drowning

This is the line that hits hardest:

If everything is a priority, you’re not prioritizing. You’re drowning with a to-do list.

Teams don’t need more urgency.They need more clarity.

Pick the thing that actually moves the needle. Let the rest wait.

Your product —and your sanity —will thank you.

A Simple Product Prioritization Test to Try Tomorrow

P.S. If you want to test your team’s prioritization instantly, ask this:

“What could we drop tomorrow and nothing bad would happen?”

Their answer will tell you everything.