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Missionaries over Mercenaries
Mercenaries do work. Missionaries know why. It is paramount that each person on the team has customer empathy and understands the macro problem to solve, otherwise it is a hugely missed opportunity. An empowered and diversified team can typically see a better way of approaching a solution. The Team must be empowered to discover problems, define solutions and make decisions… while also being accountable for their outcomes.
Outcome over Output
This comes down to results vs. activity. Start with the end in mind and work backwards. Value is measured by outcomes achieved and are evidential. We should always ask “So What?” around anything we do and have an answer that speaks to value and outcomes instead of features and output. Practicing the five ‘Why’s’ is a great place to start.
Time is our Competition
Urgency and a bias for action. Use data as much as possible but also rely on instinct. When faced with imperfect information, make the smallest responsible decision in order to move forward and further validate. Delays can cause products to atrophy and allow competitors the opportunity to do better than you. When faced with next steps, we should always ask “why can’t we do it today?”
Never speak in Absolutes
While this is written as a joke, we should avoid polarizing language. As they say in Star Wars, Only the Sith deal in Absolutes... and no one wants to be a Sith! The awareness and humility required to improve ideas is critical in order to deliver the highest level of value. Contributions come from all angles, and the value is ultimately better when there is room for improvement. Teams and diversity of thought must be valued over self. Assume the best intentions of others and seek to understand first. Respectful disagreement is valued.
Simplicity
“Less is More”, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”, “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough”, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”, and “K.I.S.S.” are all popular quotes you’ve heard before on the power of simplicity. So why should we embrace simplicity when our business is so complex? But that’s the answer! Our business is so complex that it can become too slow and arduous to improve due to the complexity of the pieces. If we can remove the mystery and barriers to understanding these components, we can be nimble and cover more ground faster. Narrowing down the message to the essence of the value takes more time and effort but is well worth the benefit for both internal operations and customer experience. We also fully recognize this item is the longest of all the Things We Believe :-)
Agility over Perfection
Iterate with customers and move. In order to learn, validate and improve for a market, we must organize teams that continuously are testing for pervasive customer value and iterating quickly. This happens when teams are allowed to move pragmatically, repetitiously, take risks and experiment. We must avoid big market “ta-das” and embrace fast failure recovery over failure avoidance.
Autonomy through Alignment
When teams are organized with focus, alignment, and less dependent constraints, there is empowerment to make fast, iterative decisions within a team. This alignment is achieved by a shared understanding of the problems being solved that becomes measurable and evidential. With this alignment, including all of the people and ingredients needed to make decisions, you achieve autonomy and a true iterative nature focused on rapid outcomes.