Jun 15, 2021 | by Budi Tanrim
Build alignment
We often have an idea of why we work on something. But are we?
From my experience working in the team setting, everyone seems reluctant to ask an obvious question: Why are we doing this?
The fear of judgment keeps us silent. This is dangerous. At some point, the team will hit the wall and be unable to move forward because everyone has a different idea of what success looks like.
Alignment is hard. Then how could we build alignment with the team?
Consider two chefs—same title and job. The first chef has an intention to make the best dish for the customer. The second chef wants to have a stable job. Would they produce the same result? Probably not.
Different intent, different result.
Are you working on a project? Cool. What is your team’s intent?
Whether you’re starting a project or in the middle of the project, you can facilitate a small workshop to reflect as a team. What is our intent? The structure has three layers: First: Who are we trying to serve? Second: What are we trying to enable them? Third: Whatever our solution will be, how would it be different from the market’s existing solution?
Be specific: A user is not a good who. A student who is looking for a job is better who.
Don’t write any solution: You want to capture an idea of future outcomes. The result should be solution-agnostic.
I’ll ask you one more time, what is your team’s intent?
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