--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret to building great products is…" description: "\"The secret to building great products is not creating awesome features, it's to make your users awesome.\" — Kathy Sierra" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg" --- # The secret to building great products is not creating… ![“The secret to building great products is not creating awesome features, it's to make your users awesome.” quote by Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg) > “The secret to building great products is not creating awesome features, it's to make your users awesome.” [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sierra argues that the key to great products is empowering users, not just adding features. **In simple terms:** Empower users to succeed with the product. Key Takeaway Focus on user empowerment over feature count. Themes design user experience empowerment Mood inspirational practical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - software onboarding - educational tools - community building - customer support Key Concepts human‑centered design product strategy skill development Questions to Reflect On - How can you measure user empowerment? - What features truly enable users? A Different Perspective Feature overload can distract from core value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [You're not selling products. You're creating relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-allen/you-re-not-selling-products-you-re-creating-relationships/) [Robert G. Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-allen/) > [“Split testing often uncovers surprising things. For example, many features that make the product better in the eyes of engineers and designers have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/split-testing-often-uncovers-surprising-things-for-example-many/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [Perhaps your quest to be part of building something great will not fall in your business life. But find it somewhere. If not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/perhaps-your-quest-to-be-part-of-building-something-great-will-not/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [We're building a great company, and we're very excited about the future of the company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-building-a-great-company-and-we-re-very-excited-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It occurred to me that building a company was the best way to align a group of people towards building something great. And its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/it-occurred-to-me-that-building-a-company-was-the-best-way-to-align-a/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [While we should be moving very quickly and building great products for our consumers, it should never come at the expense of security, uptime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baiju-bhatt/while-we-should-be-moving-very-quickly-and-building-great-products/) [Baiju Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baiju-bhatt/) > [Our focus area would be recruiting people along with building great technology as well as building a great brand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritesh-agarwal/our-focus-area-would-be-recruiting-people-along-with-building-great/) [Ritesh Agarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritesh-agarwal/) > [We should be building great things that don't exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/we-should-be-building-great-things-that-don-t-exist/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [The task of building a great university is never simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/the-task-of-building-a-great-university-is-never-simple/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [I have always really enjoyed building great teams that execute a great vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/i-have-always-really-enjoyed-building-great-teams-that-execute-a/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [I believe in building great companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-rubin/i-believe-in-building-great-companies/) [Michael G. Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-rubin/) > [“Great cultures bring problems and disagreements to the surface and solve them well, and they love imagining and building great things that haven’t been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/great-cultures-bring-problems-and-disagreements-to-the-surface-and/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Focusing on the long term and building a great product that is scalable ultimately leads to a great company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-sherman/focusing-on-the-long-term-and-building-a-great-product-that-is/) Craig Sherman > [Give users what they actually want, not what they say they want. And whatever you do, don't give them new features just because your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/give-users-what-they-actually-want-not-what-they-say-they-want-and/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Give users what they actually want, not what they say they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/give-users-what-they-actually-want-not-what-they-say-they-want/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) ## More by Kathy Sierra > [Give users what they actually want, not what they say they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/give-users-what-they-actually-want-not-what-they-say-they-want/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Give users what they actually want, not what they say they want. And whatever you do, don't give them new features just because your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/give-users-what-they-actually-want-not-what-they-say-they-want-and/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [In many cases, the more you try to compete, the less competitive you actually are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/in-many-cases-the-more-you-try-to-compete-the-less-competitive-you/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Make the right things easy and the wrong things hard to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/make-the-right-things-easy-and-the-wrong-things-hard-to-do/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Just make people better at something they want to be better at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/just-make-people-better-at-something-they-want-to-be-better-at/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Twitter, for all its good, is a hate amplifier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/twitter-for-all-its-good-is-a-hate-amplifier/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [“useful thing about a File object is that it offers a much safer way to represent a file than just using a String file…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/useful-thing-about-a-file-object-is-that-it-offers-a-much-safer-way/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [We are all human, and caring about the way something looks and feels does not mean we're superficial--it means we're human. We don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/we-are-all-human-and-caring-about-the-way-something-looks-and-feels/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [“a name, like javax.swing (a package that holds some of the Swing GUI classes you’ll learn about soon). ArrayList is in the package called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/a-name-like-javax-swing-a-package-that-holds-some-of-the-swing-gui/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Code as if the next guy to maintain your code is a homicidal maniac who knows where you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/code-as-if-the-next-guy-to-maintain-your-code-is-a-homicidal-maniac/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [The best user experiences are enchanting. They help the user enter an alternate reality, whether it's the world of making music, writing, sharing photos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/the-best-user-experiences-are-enchanting-they-help-the-user-enter-an/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [It does not matter how awesome your product is or your presentation or your post. Your awesome thing matters ONLY to the extent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/it-does-not-matter-how-awesome-your-product-is-or-your-presentation/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [“It's not what you know, it's when you know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/it-s-not-what-you-know-it-s-when-you-know-it/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Amazing, powerful, inspirational - those adjectives might make me sound like a fawning fan, but REWORK is that useful. Be prepared for a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/amazing-powerful-inspirational-those-adjectives-might-make-me-sound/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) > [Upgrade your user, not your product. Value is less about the stuff and more about the stuff the stuff enables. Don't build better cameras…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/upgrade-your-user-not-your-product-value-is-less-about-the-stuff-and/) [Kathy Sierra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) [Explore all 16 Kathy Sierra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret to building great products is not creating awesome features, it's to make your users awesome.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathy Sierra" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/the-secret-to-building-great-products-is-not-creating-awesome/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/the-secret-to-building-great-products-is-not-creating-awesome/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/kathy-sierra-31754_building_the-secret-to-building-great-products-is_2146881.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The secret to building great products is not creating awesome features, it's to make your users awesome.” — Kathy Sierra", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kathy Sierra", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-sierra/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The secret to building great products...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/the-secret-to-building-great-products-is-not-creating-awesome/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-sierra/the-secret-to-building-great-products-is-not-creating-awesome/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```