Prepare your team for the inevitable pivot

Your company’s ability to create value over the long term for your customers depends entirely on your team. Thus, we can agree that your team is your most valuable asset.

So while I appreciate a deep, intense focus on products, you can see why my interests are in the psychological and conditional factors that make good teams truly exceptional.

I’m going to walk you through how to prepare your team for a pivot, at various stages. My most recent company, RPG Labs, has already pivoted a few times, and I’ve learned a lot along the way that is valuable to you as a founder.

We’ll start with day one, when you first bring your team on, and all the way through to being 24 hours out from needing to pivot.

Day 1: Designing the Mental Model of Your Team

Mental models are stories and pictures we have in our heads that inform us about how the world works. As a founder, your mental models are the foundation for the team.

When you attract and recruit your team, you are simultaneously evaluating them and selling the dream. Once you’ve decided it’s a good fit and they’re ready to commit, stop them.

“Before you commit to this, I want to be clear about something. Our team is far more valuable than any product or idea. This product, this idea, may not work out. I’m looking to build a team that can weather the storm, persevere and adapt to outside feedback.”

Let’s be honest, you don’t want to find a new team every time a product or company fails. The cool stuff starts happening with years of experience together, like any great sports team.

Problems On The Horizon…

Your team is psyched. You’ve shipped some product and have some traction.

But retention and engagement is low. Nobody is converting to paid. You know this isn’t going to lead anywhere good.

“I’m so proud of how hard we’ve worked to get here. Part of our goal was to get better at working together, and I think we can all agree we’ve accomplished that in spades. Listen, there’s a possibility that we will need to move on from this product and try something new. I’ve been looking at the numbers and they’re not particularly encouraging. This has nothing to do with our [insert good stuff here, like execution], but we overestimated the value of our product.”

Unless of course, none of that is true.

Fuck.

It’s all over. The team thinks everything is going well, but you know better. If you don’t scrap this product and move on, you’re going to lose money for 3–4 months and likely shut down. Team > Product.

This one is too dependent on conditional variables, but there are some general guidelines I can provide on handling this.

  1. Focus on the positive
  2. Be honest about reality
  3. Tell them you’re not upset if they decide to move on. Offer to help them land a new gig
  4. Be prepared for negative feedback
  5. Allow the team space and time to digest
  6. Involve them in the brainstorming process

That’s all for today friends, enjoy the weekend.