Mission over metrics

The biggest difference between a company with everyone rowing in the same direction and disorganized chaos is mission. In the former, the team knows the mission, cares about it, and is executing towards it.

As Scott explained to me over lunch one day in downtown New York City, “I love the idea of every person understanding how their small role aligns with the broader mission. . . . Elon Musk says that you can stop anyone on the SpaceX factory floor and ask them what they’re doing and why it’s important. Someone could be making bolts and you could say, ‘Why do you do it? What’s your job?’ And they’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m making these bolts so that we can have a landable vehicle, because if we do a landable vehicle, then we can get to Mars. And if we can get to Mars, then humanity will da-da-da-da . . .’” When people know where their small part fits in the whole, they recognize how indispensable their work is. They feel more accountable.

From The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky
Image result for bolt

The force is strong with this one. Not only is Musk good at helping outsiders believe (see: Tesla’s rocky ride), but he also brings it home with his team. Both inside and out, Musk’s main weapon is preaching his mission. Why are we doing what we’re doing? Why should I care?

Wait. Really, why should you care? Why is it important to have everyone thinking in terms of mission, rather their individual OKRs or KPIs or APIs? Quite simple: Grey. The answer is grey. What? Well, the world isn’t black and white. Every action taken by a team member is in some grey area. There are always tradeoffs. A little bit more performance, slightly higher cost, maybe some vendor lock in, etc. And your team can’t read your mind. Well, they can, if the mission is the summation of what’s on your mind and you’ve drilled it into theirs. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, imagine a typical gray-area decision. If the team member only understands her part of the puzzle, you may find yourself frustrated with the decision they make. They fail to see the big picture! Why do I have to do everything? Argh. The solution? Well, as you may have guessed: get everyone thinking in terms of the mission. Whenever there is greyness (read: always), they can always look to the mission to resolve ambiguity. Does this get us closer to achieving our mission? Then it’s probably the right move. This is how we get everyone rowing in the same direction.

Oh, and there’s another benefit, perhaps even more valuable. When someone knows why they’re doing what they’re doing, it tends to be more motivating. It’s more meaningful, and often more enjoyable.

When people know where their small part fits in the whole, they recognize how indispensable their work is. They feel more accountable.

A common mistake is only getting “key players” on board with the mission, assuming that will be enough. Well, it’s better than nothing, but expect to be frustrated. The more you bottleneck the knowledge to make good decisions, the slower your organization will move, and the dumber it’ll behave. Do you want to be a Human who relies on their single brain to move their big dumb limbs, or a sleek Octopus who can do eight things at once?

For some reason, I have an octopus tattoo on my arm

So now we know we need everyone onboard. Wouldn’t you love your whole team to care about the mission? Everyone from an executive assistant to the head of sales. Well, it’s possible. Even if your mission isn’t about getting to Mars, it can be done. You need a story about why what you’re doing matters, and you need to repeat that story. For your team to know and care, they need to have it framed from their perspective and hear it over and over.

Elon Musk says that you can stop anyone on the SpaceX factory floor and ask them what they’re doing and why it’s important.

This all sounds good in theory, but then you get back to “work” and it falls by the wayside. I know because I’m pretty good at doing that. The hard part? Prioritizing the communication of mission.

To prioritize communicating the mission, you have to make a sacrifice. That means less focus on whatever fires are burning right now. Less focus on your OKRs and KPIs. Less energy spent pushing something that is immediately actionable and measurable. More energy spent on the ephemeral: getting everyone pointed in the same direction and excited about their role in the journey. In the long run, that will probably be the most valuable thing you do as a leader.


Also published on Medium.