“When Going Back Feels Criminal”: The Power of Truly Great Products

On a recent trip to Omaha, I rented an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car—and immediately drove like a rookie.

After years of driving a Tesla, I’ve become fully accustomed to one-pedal driving. It’s second nature.

For the uninitiated: in a Tesla, lifting your foot off the accelerator automatically engages regenerative braking. The car slows down smoothly—no need to touch the brake unless there is an emergency braking situation. It not only creates a seamless, intuitive driving experience but also avoids the need to replace brake pads every couple of years.

In most ICE cars? Not so much.

So there I was in Omaha, casually easing off the gas pedal, expecting the car to decelerate. It didn’t.

Cue a mini panic and a hard jab on the brake. This happened more than once.

I felt like someone who forgot how to drive—which is absurd, but also oddly enlightening.

The Deja Vu of Better Experiences

That moment triggered a familiar feeling. It reminded me of other times in life when I made a leap to a better product and suddenly realized how much friction I had been tolerating before:

• Switching from Windows to Mac: Suddenly, I no longer needed to think about antivirus software. Updates were painless. Everything just… worked.
  
• Moving from a Nokia to an iPhone: One home button replaced three. Touch replaced physical keys. Simplicity won.
  
• Transitioning from ICE to Tesla: One pedal replaced two. Driving became intuitive and even a little addictive.
  

In each case, the transition wasn’t just about new features. It was about removing friction. About unlearning old habits because the new way was that much better.

The Product Design Lesson

Great products do more than deliver utility. They shift expectations.
They make complexity disappear.
They create “Wow” not by doing more, but by doing less—more elegantly.

They make the previous generation feel outdated. Clunky. Even broken.

That’s the magic of a great product: it creates an “I can’t go back” moment.

That’s when a product stops being a tool—and becomes a habit. A preference. A new baseline.

As product builders, that’s the bar we should aim for. Not just to improve something incrementally, but to redefine the experience so thoroughly that users feel friction when they try to return to the old way.

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What product gave you that “I can’t go back” moment?
Let me know—I’m always collecting examples of beautifully reimagined experiences.