People play an important role in product teams, people have traits similar to animals and understanding these traits is both important and significant as it helps product companies develop the right teams. Teams which can deliver products in the right time. The presentation gives a perspective on the people correlating them to the traits shown by hunting animals and then draws some conclusions.
1. Building product is not about having a
large team to manage. It is about having a
small team with the right people on it.
People
Fred Wilson
2. About Me
~15 years | ~12 products | Various roles
Name Gaurav Marwaha
Current Associated with Nucleus Software, having complete ownership of new product
development for loan origination product for banks/ NBFCs.
Driving the technology teams to deliver an internally re-usable product
development framework.
Past Have successfully lead & contributed to multiple product teams in different
domains (GIS/ Health/ e-Governance)
Technology Java/ big-data/ analytics/ Spring/ ESB (Camel)/ Mobile/ Social
Product Conceptualization, Design, Development, Maintenance, EOL, Strategy &
roadmap
Soft Team building, coaching, mentoring
LinkedIn http://in.linkedin.com/in/gauravmarwaha/
3. The natural instincts and behavior of some animals has been
mapped to human behavior for a long time. Psychometric tests
try to relate the inner nature of a person to traits found in
animals. Even in the horoscope each sign is represented by an
animal which people associate to and believe that they have the
traits shown by that animal.
This presentation tries to do the reverse it will characterize some
hunting animals and their selected traits then map them to
people.
Without making any references to real people/ names the presence
of these traits in people has been the results of observations
done over long periods of working with people from across
different geographies of the world.
Introduction
Fascination with nature
4. People & Product Development
Table Of Contents
A brief on various hunting animals and their traits
Animals & Their Traits
Applying the traits identified to product development teams
Applicability to Product Teams
Crystallizing some thoughts from what has been discussed/ presented
Conclusions
1
2
3
References and links to pictures/ articles/ other material if used from Internet
References
4
5. A brief on various hunting animals and their traits
Animals & Their Traits
1
6. Tigers
The tiger is the largest of all cats, they are territorial and generally solitary and require large
contiguous areas of habitat. They like to hunt mostly large animals, normally hunt alone. They
can kill prey which weighs more than 6 times the weight of the tiger.
7. Gray Wolves
Gray wolves are apex predators. They live in nuclear families called packs and are social animals.
Wolves are highly territorial animals. They hunt in packs (5-6) and first isolate the prey from the
group then hunt it together. They hunt animals of mid size like deer. The wolves can
communicate expressions to members in their pack.
8. African Wild Dogs
African wild dogs are social, live in packs of 10 or more. They hunt together after chasing the
prey over long distances. Members of the pack communicate during hunts to synchronize
attacks. They hunt smaller animals like calves/ cattle.
9. Pet Hunting Dogs
As the name suggests these are dogs domesticated by humans, they help humans in hunts by
following scents, recovering animals and barking to flush out prey. Hunting dogs do not hunt for
themselves but for the human that is they help in the hunt.
10. Sheep
Sheep do not hunt, there are very few to none wild sheep. Most of the species are domesticated
by humans and they provide wool to us.
11. Notable Traits
Largest Low to Nil Super Fast 1
Territory Hunting Team CountSocial/
Cohabitation
Speed of Hunting
Large Medium Fast 5
Medium High Slow 10-15
NA Very High NA NA
NA Ultra High NA NA
12. Applying the traits identified to product development teams
Applicability to Product Teams
2
13. Product Development
Relationship to hunting
• Time to hunt is critical
as time to market
• Nature of product and
complexity is similar to
the size of prey being
hunted
• Ground to cover or the
territory/ environment
poses unique
challenges
• Many times the first
attack/ solution is
critical for success
Hunting Product Dev
14. Correlation
The hunt aka Product Development
GOAL: Product in least time & cost
1 2 3 4
Complexity Team Skills Agility/ Dexterity Salary/ Cost
The vastness of the
territory can be
correlated to the
complexity of the
problem. More
complicated the
problem more
exploration on
possible solutions
needs to be done.
A product is not built
single handedly it
needs a team of
course there are
exceptions to all
rules. But overall
team/ social skills
play an important role
in product teams.
The speed with which
the team/ person
delivers work.
Alignment to the
business problem
and subsequent pace
at which the solution
is delivered is a key
metric.
What is the cost to
maintain the team/
person? An important
consideration for
overall P&L
statements and low
costs keep the CFOs/
investors happy.
RELATIONSHIP TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
15. Territory Hunting Team CountSocial/
Cohabitation
Speed of Hunting
Correlation
The hunt aka Product Development
GOAL: Product in least time & cost
1 2 3 4
Complexity Team Skills Agility/ Dexterity Salary/ Cost
The vastness of the
territory can be
correlated to the
complexity of the
problem. More
complicated the
problem more
exploration on
possible solutions
needs to be done.
A product is not built
single handedly it
needs a team of
course there are
exceptions to all
rules. But overall
team/ social skills
play an important role
in product teams.
The speed with which
the team/ person
delivers work.
Alignment to the
business problem
and subsequent pace
at which the solution
is delivered is a key
metric.
What is the cost to
maintain the team/
person? An important
consideration for
overall P&L
statements and low
costs keep the CFOs/
investors happy.
RELATIONSHIP TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
16. • Good:
Fast, powerful, pre
cise, self-guided
• Bad: Loner, needs
complicated
problems, costly
Tigers
• Good: Quiet
fast, work in
team, planning, me
dium cost
• Bad: Slow, smaller
prey
Wolves
• Good: Plan, can
pursue prey, team
spirit, low cost
• Bad: Slow, too
much noise, may
not solve complex
problems
Wild Dogs
• Good:
Domesticated, doe
s as instructed, low
cost
• Bad: Not self
driven, need
instructions
Hunt Dogs
To Summarize
18. The Right Person
Humans are more complicated than animals
How important are team
skills, what is the team
size and roles?
2 Agility
3Cost
4Complexity 1 Team Skills
Where is the nearest
competitor, in how much time is
the delivery expected?
Adaptability to change.
What is the problem, has
it been done before?
What is the total cost
which can be borne?
How long can we go on
bearing the cost?
Note
The right candidate for the
product team is a mix of these
traits but the key factor is
identifying the weightages.
Assuming of course technical
fitment.
19. Wait, are these the only
categories?
No there is one more worth
mentioning before any
conclusions are made.
20. The Grandmasters
The grand masters may not look or sound like hunters, they exist only in the human world.
These humble beings can create tigers/ wolves/ dogs/ sheep. That is they can coach/ mentor the
right candidates and get them to the desired levels.
21. Grandmaster - Facts
• Difficult to identify/ find
• Should not be confused with a trainer
• Shifu could see that the ferocity & training
of the four Kung-fu warriors was not
enough. And he could guide a so called
stupid/ lazy Panda to be the greatest of
them all.
• Grandmasters in product development
can similarly coach and mentor others to
become great warriors/ hunters/ team
players.
• Assuming there is time to coach/ mentor
or bring up the skills from X to Y.
• The grandmasters can help to
strategize, plan, design, build teams and
execute; this is a hard to find trait.
22. Conclusions
CLEAR MISSION & GOALS
Like a hunt the product team needs clear
mission & goals. Points of failure and
success should be clearly defined.
Milestones should be carefully planned.
THE TEAM
Sheep in a team of tigers can be dragging
and vice versa can be bloody. Inter-
dependencies and relations play and
important part in the overall goal of
achieving success.
WHACK JOBS
Are important and loners who are low on
inter-personal skills are best at such times.
Shaking the comfort zones and getting
things back on track.
GRANDMASTERS
Are like guiding beacons and help groom
talent, stable product companies will have
more of these. They hold the pillars
together and help in grooming of talent.
23. References and links to pictures/ articles/ other material if used from Internet
References
4
24. References
Attribution to blogs/ images and other links
Kungfu Panda – the movie
Wikipedia for knowledge on animals and pictures
Basic template from Microsoft
