Torres argues continuous discovery fails in large firms due to structural incentives

Teresa Torres argues that continuous discovery lacks product-market fit at the organizational level for companies larger than approximately 120 employees. While individual product teams often successfully adopt discovery habits, the broader organization fails to sustain them due to structural incentives. Boards and executives prioritize predictable, quarterly results and often rely on the HIPPO, or Highest Paid Person's Opinion, to dictate solutions. This reliance breaks trust with teams and destroys discovery habits. Torres notes that organizational change is too slow and chaotic to align with these quarterly demands, and successful adoption rarely survives leadership changes.

Torres posits that the industry's current solution, which involves pushing decision-making to product teams, is infeasible in large modern organizations. She stated that she is questioning whether that approach is feasible in a modern organization of a certain size. She argues that a new approach is needed to integrate customer-centricity within existing governance constraints. Torres contends that the current industry approach to continuous discovery is structurally incompatible with the incentive systems of large organizations, requiring a fundamental rethinking of how to implement customer-centric practices.