Sancho PM· Philosophy · 3 min read
The Windmill Problem
Fighting Battles That Don't Matter
Don Quixote attacked windmills. Many PMs attack imaginary competitors and edge cases. Here's how Sancho would focus on what actually matters.
The Knight’s Mistake
In Cervantes’ tale, Don Quixote spots a row of windmills and immediately sees giants threatening the land. Despite Sancho’s protests that they’re just windmills, the knight charges. He gets knocked off his horse, bruised and confused, while the “giants” stand unmoved.
It’s a funny scene until you realize how often we do the same thing in Product Management.
The PM Version
I’ve seen this play out countless times:
The Competitor Obsession. “Competitor X just launched feature Y. We need to respond immediately.” Never mind that our users didn’t ask for it. Never mind that it doesn’t align with our strategy. The “threat” feels real, so we charge.
The Edge Case Monster. “But what if a user does this obscure thing on a Tuesday during a full moon?” We spend weeks engineering for scenarios that affect 0.1% of users while ignoring problems that affect 80%.
The Stakeholder Giant. A loud executive mentions something once in passing. Suddenly it’s top priority, even though no customer data supports it.
The Perfect Launch Windmill. We delay shipping for another polish pass, fighting for perfection while competitors ship good-enough.
All windmills. All distractions from the real work.
The Sancho Approach
Sancho saw the windmills for what they were. Here’s how he’d approach PM:
1. Name the Giant Before Charging
Before attacking any “threat,” Sancho would ask: Is this actually a giant, or just a windmill?
The test: Will this matter in 6 months? If not, it’s probably a windmill.
2. Look at What’s Actually Killing You
While Quixote fought imaginary giants, they were running low on food and their horse was tired. Real problems, ignored for fantasy ones.
The PM equivalent: Your users are complaining about something specific. That’s the real problem. Not the feature a competitor launched.
3. Let Some Battles Go Unfought
Sancho knew not every slight required a duel. Some things can be ignored.
For PMs: You don’t have to respond to every competitor move. You don’t have to solve every edge case. Sometimes the right answer is: “We’ll wait and see.”
4. Energy is Finite
Every charge at a windmill uses energy that could go toward real progress. Sancho would budget energy carefully.
The rule: Before any new initiative, ask: What will we stop doing to make room for this?
The Monday Morning Test
Next time you’re about to charge at a priority, pause and ask:
- Is this a real giant or a windmill?
- What data shows this is an actual problem?
- Who asked for this? (Users, or just loud stakeholders?)
- What will we not do if we do this?
If you can’t answer these clearly, you might be tilting at windmills.
Pragmatic, Not Passive
This isn’t about ignoring competition or dismissing stakeholder input. It’s about proportional response.
Real giants deserve attention. Windmills don’t.
Sancho would know the difference. Do you?
Put this into practice
Stop fighting windmills. The Priority Scorecard helps you focus on what actually matters.
