The product referred to in the original post is... a house! Frans Bouma was the first to name the product correctly (well, really like the only). Here's the full quote, from Scott Sedam:
"I suggest you look at both what you are building and how you are operating and challenge yourself. Are you really doing anything exceptional? And here's the catch: Whereas it used to be truly exceptional to build a fantastic, near-zero-defect house and provide great customer service, these are no longer major factors in differentiation. We aren't yet to the level of the auto industry, for example, where compared with what we were buying 20 years ago, it's becoming hard to buy a bad car (although service still could improve.) But high quality and customer service are now "table stakes" in homebuilding. It's getting to be like indoor plumbing. You need it just to be in the game."
Apparently homebuilding is facing the exact same challenges we as software developers faced right before the iBubble burst. Since then, a lot of chaff has been separated from the wheat, and I think the overall quality of IT is improving as a result. But this is no time to rest on our laurels! Like the original article says, we need to continue to challenge ourselves.
Last time I asked you what you are doing to challenge yourself. Now, how can you use this to differentiate yourself?