Block­busters

Blockbuster product teams avoid straying off course. They establish “product pillars” early in development - specific goals and parameters the product must meet to succeed commercially. Pillars articulate essential features and constraints - what the product won't be when finished.

Useful pillars are:

Clear and commonly understood, so management and developers agree on what to build. Stable, because changing mid-development discourages teams and causes downstream issues. Pillars should remain even post-launch. If initial graphics are still used at project end, that indicates stability. Adhered to, avoiding “vision creep” where features continually get added and products never launch. Vision creep makes products ever grander in scope. Customer-oriented, meeting needs rather than responding to individual fickle desires. Customers don't know what's achievable. Attempting to satisfy every request wastes time chasing wish lists. Achievable, with agreement that meeting pillars means development success. As a Johnson & Johnson R&D director put it, "I never let [new features] get too far. I cut them off before reaching the team. On earlier projects with shifting specs, we just slowed launches. Getting to market is critical. You can make changes later."

Polycom’s founders spent months on an initial $400 desktop speakerphone before realizing customers wouldn't buy it. So they targeted high-end teleconferencing against entrenched competitors. Their new product needed:

Blockbuster product teams rarely follow a linear path to market. Instead, they take a "Lickety Stick" approach - trying many different ideas in rapid succession until they eventually come up with a prototype that delights customers. They then concentrate on doing more of what works and less of what does not.

This Lickety Stick methodology differs from conventional wisdom that states product development should proceed orderly and sequentially. In the real world, all development activities happen at once rather than waiting their turn.

The key principles of Lickety Stick product development are:

1. Get the first prototype in front of prospective customers quickly, within weeks rather than months, even if using off-the-shelf components instead of custom-designed ones. Get feedback on what needs improvement at the very start of the project. Do customer research using these early prototypes.

2. Next, bring out improved prototype iterations as fast as possible, carefully ensuring each one actually enhances the product. Let customers provide suggestions to change future development direction. Keep tweaking and refining the product through successive generations and evolutionary enhancements. If physical prototypes are infeasible, develop virtual ones to showcase the product-in-development.

3. Instill urgency by setting a hard deadline that makes logical sense. Without deadlines, product specifications keep changing, enthusiasm fades, and people move to areas with greater urgency. Skilled project managers, like venture capitalists, excel at setting milestones and cutting off funding if they are missed.

Blockbuster teams share information constantly through informal conversations as well as structured meetings and documentation. This knowledge exchange relies on two key methods: transactive memory and mechanistic memory.

Transactive memory refers to the information stored in the minds of team members. It gets shared through casual discussions in hallways or over quick phone calls, as well as more formal face-to-face meetings where people talk about progress and challenges. This is about understanding who on the team has expertise in different areas. Mechanistic memory involves capturing information in computer systems or physical spaces. This could be an intranet site, shared drive, or even a dedicated room with walls covered in posters, notes, and other paper records. These spaces allow people to record information in a centralized place where it can be easily retrieved and updated by the full team.

Most development teams require both personal exchange and mechanistic documentation to function optimally. This is especially vital for virtual teams with members in different locations. Keeping outside contractors fully informed is also crucial. Without structured systems to disseminate knowledge, a team is unlikely to make much headway on even straightforward projects, let alone more complex blockbuster initiatives.

As experts Gary Lynn and Richard Reilly explained, blockbuster groups tend to have frequent, regular meetings focused on progress and obstacles. Daily standups are common early on when formulating plans, with less frequent follow-ups further into execution. Keeping these interactions brief and action-oriented is key. Monday mornings often work best to start the week by getting everyone up to speed.

Teams that produce exceptionally successful products, known as blockbusters, rarely function harmoniously. They tend to comprise individuals with strong personal views who focus more on achieving goals than developing friendships. Good teamwork emerges organically when senior managers actively participate, product objectives are clearly defined, information flows freely, and immutable deadlines impart urgency.

With senior leadership involvement, a compelling vision, stakeholder buy-in, an ambitious deadline, and the right talent, teams naturally coalesce around shared purpose rather than interpersonal bonds. When focused intensely on an impossible deadline, disagreements fade as team members prioritize tasks over differences, plunging into work rather than fretting about compatibility. People care less whether they personally like colleagues and more about progress toward collective success.

The foundation of a great team is shared belief in the undertaking's potential. Blockbuster teams exude infectious enthusiasm, whether sparked by a visionary leader, the chance to accomplish something extraordinary, exceptional teammates, or opportunities to defy norms. Regardless, without that unified commitment to the goal, teams flounder. Everyone wants to belong to an A-Team doing historic work.

Conflicts are inevitable on cross-functional product teams encompassing divergent skillsets and personalities. But well-managed clashes over substantive issues can benefit the effort by surfacing previously ignored problems requiring resolution. The key is not eliminating discord but channeling it toward the shared vision and coordinating team members' complementary abilities to achieve it.