Missionaries vs. Mercenaries: Building Strong Product Teams and Tracking Unique Users

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Sep 25, 2023
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Missionaries vs. Mercenaries: Building Strong Product Teams and Tracking Unique Users
In the world of product development and management, the concept of having teams of missionaries rather than mercenaries has gained significant attention. This perspective, highlighted by John Doerr in the Silicon Valley Product Group, emphasizes the importance of engaged and motivated teams with a deep understanding of the business context and a tangible empathy for the customer. On the other hand, teams of mercenaries lack empowerment, accountability, passion for problem-solving, and connection with the users and customers.
While this concept resonates strongly, there are several common challenges that organizations face when trying to build teams of missionaries.
- 1. Leadership: Many executives and stakeholders believe they have all the answers and shy away from discussions and debates. This lack of openness prevents the cultivation of a missionary mindset within the team. Educating the leadership team about the benefits of missionary teams and encouraging a collaborative approach to decision-making is crucial.
- 2. Staffing: In some cases, leaders understand the importance of having missionary teams but find themselves with an organization that predominantly follows the mercenary model. This situation often arises when there is a significant reliance on outsourced designers or engineers. To overcome this challenge, organizations need to raise the bar when it comes to hiring and ensure that product managers, designers, and senior engineers align with the missionary mindset.
- 3. Process: Many product development processes, particularly those designed for "the enterprise," unknowingly promote the mercenary model. While they may not explicitly label themselves as such, the lack of empowerment, accountability, and customer connection in these processes align with the characteristics of mercenaries. Organizations should adopt processes and techniques that allow teams to showcase their potential. This includes establishing a compelling product vision, defining measurable business outcomes, and aligning them with the objectives of each product team.
Addressing these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach. First and foremost, it is essential to educate the leadership team about the benefits of missionary teams and encourage open discussions and debates. This creates a culture that values diverse perspectives and fosters a sense of empowerment among team members.
Secondly, organizations need to invest in hiring individuals who align with the missionary mindset. This includes product managers who are passionate about problem-solving, designers who prioritize empathy for the customer, and senior engineers who are committed to delivering high-quality solutions.
Finally, organizations must adopt processes and techniques that facilitate the showcasing of team potential. By aligning a compelling product vision with measurable business outcomes, teams can strive towards achieving tangible results. This approach helps build confidence within the team and demonstrates the value of missionary teams.
In addition to building strong product teams, tracking unique users is another crucial aspect of product development, particularly in the digital space. Amplitude, a tracking platform, utilizes a system of three different IDs to track users: device ID, user ID, and Amplitude ID.
The device ID is automatically generated by Amplitude for web-based applications and persists unless a user clears their browser cookies or browses in private mode. The user ID, on the other hand, is configured by the organization and should be a unique identifier that does not change. Amplitude relies on the user ID to recognize and track currently-existing users.
However, a challenge arises when Amplitude encounters an anonymous user with only a device ID but later determines that they are a recognized user with an Amplitude ID. To solve this problem, Amplitude cross-references the list of Amplitude IDs with an internal mapping of merged IDs, indicating that they belong to the same user. It is worth noting that user IDs cannot be merged, and if a new user ID is created for an existing user, Amplitude will recognize them as separate unique users.
In conclusion, building teams of missionaries and effectively tracking unique users are two critical aspects of successful product development. By addressing leadership, staffing, and process challenges, organizations can cultivate engaged and motivated teams that prioritize customer empathy and problem-solving. Simultaneously, utilizing appropriate tracking mechanisms such as Amplitude's ID system allows for accurate user analysis and insights. Embracing these principles and practices can lead to stronger organizations, empowered teams, and ultimately, better products and user experiences.
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