In my previous post I talked about my journey of SaaS products, where I also mentioned our recent hot theme being mythology and different school of thoughts from history to discuss products, companies and businesses.
The following post is inspired by the theories of great Chinese war strategist, Sun Tzu. His philosophies not just influence today’s modern war tactics, but also theories for Modern Capitalists. I recently completed reading his book ‘The Art of War’ which has motivated me to relate it to my past experiences with all product companies. In this post, I’m trying to relate his theories with strategies and tactics of building and delivering a product.
There are five bullet points which cover the key intent of his philosophies to win a war! I’m trying to see these as our strategies and tactics for leading a Product Company.
1. Measurement
A leader must have an ability to understand the scale and scope of a given problem so that we can do a correct sizing. Running with a wrong size shoe would be a key problem for winning or even completing a race. Before starting the race, we need to have knowledge about the distance, is it a quick sprint or a long marathon? Otherwise we might end up burning resources at wrong time or they might even remain unused to reach your best timings.
We all must know as leaders that what exactly a big problem looks like in comparison to a small problem. So that we can prioritise it accordingly. Ability to judge how short are short term goals and how long are the long terms, to scope out the correct roadmap. If we don’t master our ‘measurement’ skills, we might end up creating multiple plans for a product launch with over or under (size & skills) hiring.
2. Estimation
Ability to use understanding of ‘measurement’ in our day to day operations gives your team a right estimate to have a balanced roadmap. Acceptance and approvals of right estimates for teams gives them a healthy culture to thrive. Putting right estimates against every release so that the priorities and releases can be well planned and executed is must for your team culture and your clients as well.
Wrong estimates will drain and stress out your resources for no good. Because wrong estimates not just stops with one bad release but sometime a chain of other irreversible impacts, majorly on product culture. Definitely not all things can be planned (planning is guessing) but a pattern must be investigated and later rectified so that next time you’ve right estimates. Don’t worry if you fail on estimates while starting up but do take care if you’re solving same or similar problems again and again. Because it means we are not fixing the problem.
At times, it’s crucial to answer (by mid management) what all can be achieved in a given time so that the higher leadership can plan its manoeuvres better. Usually these manoeuvres come often when you’re still in building phase. That’s totally natural. Because everyone is learning with new team, even the experienced leaders as they’re working with their new young team and product. Every young team and product has its own nuances, hence copying a culture or processes doesn’t help, even if it’s from the most successful companies.
If you put a wrong estimate in cricket ground, it’s very likely that you will drop the catch, worst, it might hurt you as well. So estimates are important. Correct estimates to plan your releases in sync with sales, marketing strategies, investors and more importantly your clients.
Its not just about product roadmaps but company too, like, size and skill of team (hiring) and funding you’ll need to run as per your measurements. How much will you need to achieve the next target? How many clients can your platform and team can handle, before they think of ‘scalability’ fixes?
3. Calculations
After correct estimates, it’s about calculations to breakdown given problems into pieces and then managing it with your planned resources. Now estimates are no more hypothesis but a reality, so we start by dividing tasks (features, roles etc) among teams according to correct estimates. We start with calculations to achieve our goals, calculations among people and product management. The act of calculation is about how we add, subtract, divide and multiply to create multiple teams to get to our target in given time. It might be trickier to get to the right calculations initially but with time we must excel to get it right with ‘ease’.
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
It’s our role to actively keep checking all possible calculations and probability to meet estimates, as your daily operations do get disturb with lots of unplanned movements around. As young team, we do get distracted with new clients, market trends, easy money, board meeting with current and ‘new’ investors (sometimes), new technologies, hirings, resignations etc. Hence we do need to keep a check on our calculations daily so that its never late to make adjustments to reach our targets. These calculations could also be creating multiple teams within a department as per your team’s expertise and complexity of the product. It’s always easier to move faster with smaller teams.
“The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.” ~ Sun Tzu
The beauty of understanding calculations is to realise that there are just three primary colors (red, blue & yellow), five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet and bitter) and just seven musical notes (sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni) yet in combinations they produce unlimited hues, music and flavours that can be ever tasted, seen or heard. It’s all about who can exhaust the possibilities of their combinations to achieve their targets or estimates.
Quoting from book, “Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much no more calculations at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.”
The power of team and its unity is that it doesn’t let the feeble to give up easily, and the stronger to be dominating unreasonably. This comes through a culture, which is again a byproduct of your hiring process. Right hiring processes among teams lead to a right attitude. Power of culture is that if anyone gets upset, then there would be a culture and a network of people around which will help to fix issues and resolve gaps. But if leadership’s communication and trust starts weakening, then it gets tougher to bind the team.
“The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right folks and utilize combined energy.”
4. Balancing
The act of balancing is about maintaining the energy of the team and directing it to the right direction at the right time. It’s easier to secure your estimates and goals when you’re balancing your direct approach with some assistive tactics (indirect methods) as well. Be it the team or your product, they both need some indirect methods to remain engaged continuously. Yes, your team is also a product. As our product needs an ecosystem to thrive, same is with the team. These acts could be those multiple chances, opportunities or gaps which you keep looking for as a ground leader.
It’s expected and natural to keep evolving with our processes and methods to achieve goals, especially in young teams. So it gets crucial for leadership to master the art of manoeuvring so that the improvisations and flexibility can prevail in daily operations. Sometimes, not just the daily processes but leadership has to change their quarterly, annual or even long term goals, based on evolving business requirements with time.
It’s scary to repeat or imitate similar strategies in the name of building a progressive culture from successful (or previous) organisations, because every team and time has an inexhaustible changing circumstances.
“Anyone can plan a campaign, but few are capable of waging war, because only a true military genius can handle the developments and circumstances.”
~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Sometimes, indirect methods make the most crucial dent, but this art of manoeuvring comes with lot of precautions. Manoeuvring with an army (united team) is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous! Before making big decisions it’s crucial for leaders to check ground reality and mood. Otherwise, it might cost you not just your team culture, but you might start loosing your trust and hence resources. Be it hiring/firing, updated roadmap, revised timelines, changing in team structure, new release processes or etc. its always better to take your team in confidence before executing any sudden manoeuver. Protecting your team’s time and attention is also the leader’s responsibility so that team can stay focus for longer hours. Failing to do so will cost you with unnecessary long working hours and at times weekends as well. Worst is when it becomes part of your culture, where everyone gets busy with some activities, and no one is productive really. It’s important for leaders to catch the difference between productivity and mere activity. Seeds of dissatisfaction lead to fall of any established culture and hence the team.
Unnecessary iterations have been one of the biggest pain point for some young teams whose leadership has either test anxiety or absence of required subject expertise. They eventually end up burning time, funds and resources which sometime cost them lot with their unstable revenue model as well.
To keep iterating without launching is like being an actor in a film which never gets released! A leadership must realise that a product’s real evaluation or testing can happen only on live product with real users and in their real environment. The rest is still an assumption or a preference (most of it) of handful people with sometimes missing key context and real scenarios.
5. Victory
Victory is all about balancing of chances. Which means it’s about timing and conditions. Sometimes as leader, you have to create a simulated environment within teams for getting better results in a given time. Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength. Leaders who know the advantages that accompany variation of tactics know how to handle their team. Those who don’t, may fail to turn their knowledge to practical account.
As a leader, you should have ability to foresee your victory or defeat much before it becomes obvious. Hence your decision making is the key to success. On one of my all hands meet, our investor Mike Volpi said, decisions based on just facts are not decisions! Because leaders need to see things beyond and much before they turn into facts. Quick decision making helps teams to be geared up much earlier and get into favourable conditions at the right time.
Quoting from book, “The quality of decision is like the well timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. Therefore the good fighter (leader) will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.”
Knowing your team’s strength and sense of timing makes the biggest contribution to your victory. It’s important to not get distracted by low hanging profits and unnecessary competition. Otherwise it starts taking toll gradually on you and your team before you even realise. Be it a rough or a smooth patch, you must stay focused.
“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Conclusion
It’s always better to plan and keep preparing for tomorrow. The only thing that would be worst is not having a plan for how to cope. There is another favourite book of mine, “An astronaut’s guide to life on earth” by Chris Hadfield, which says,
“To me, its simple: if you’ve got the time, use it to get ready.”