play the accordion mental model

Topic

The "play the accordion" mental model is a product management and organizational framework popularized by Tom Verrilli (Chief Product Officer at Whatnot and former CPO at Twitch). It describes the dynamic process of expanding and contracting focus, resources, or team involvement depending on the stage of a project or product lifecycle. Similar to the physical movement of playing an accordion, leaders must know when to pull outward to gather broad input and explore ideas, and when to push inward to narrow focus, execute, and deliver.