Building Out Loud #13: My momentum practice
2 atomic posts on momentum
Seven patterns that kill momentum in a team - plus antidotes
#1
PROBLEM: Doing work without a destination feels futile. There is nothing to pull us along and unite us as a team. Almost as damaging is a destination that is too close, too easy or not inspiring or challenging to shoot for.
SOLUTION: Clearly define an outcome or a change in the world that happens because of this project. Make it difficult. Be comfortable with the fact that there are elements that we don't know that we need yet. That's OK because an aligned team can discover and execute.
#2
PROBLEM: We have our project WIP and discuss how it is going, but we don't ask, 'What do we do next?' Having this discipline defaults a team into thinking about what comes next. Without it, we might drift through the next sprint.
SOLUTION: Add a default item to agendas to answer this question by the end of each WIP.
#3
PROBLEM: When leaders hold onto the need to make every final decision, teams slow down dramatically. Worse, it trains the team to stop thinking through possible next steps over time.
SOLUTION: Implement "I Intend to" as a part of the team culture. Give the team accountability to act and, Instead of asking for permission, share out loud what they intend to do.
#4
PROBLEM: Teams treat every decision with equal risk and too much momentum is halted while more research is done or someone else takes time to decide.
SOLUTION: Amazon has solved this problem in a couple of ways. Consider 'One-way doors and two-way doors'. One-way doors, decisions that we can't reverse, we DO need to think carefully about. We can just reverse two-way door decisions if they don't go according to plan. What kind of decision is this? Their other approach, which I use a LOT, is "Disagree and commit" - does it matter if you disagree? Is it a reason to halt momentum? Let's see what happens.
#5
PROBLEM: We've all been in meetings when an idea is put forward, gets passive acknowledgement, "Sounds interesting", and then gets moved on from. Most ideas are a bit crap at the start, or even hard to understand. The next time, this person will think twice about putting their idea forward.
SOLUTION: When someone else puts up an idea, do the work. Enquire to understand. Try to build upon it. See what it could become. Is it worth an experiment?
#6
PROBLEM: It just feels like work.
SOLUTION: Consider 'So what?' about this project. Why should the team give a shit? What will motivate them to want to deliver this project for free? What's the adventure?
#7
PROBLEM: Everybody knows, deep down, that risk and speed are only valued in this organisation if the project goes well. In the event of failure, you will be 'punished.'
SOLUTION: Understand how you behave (everyone, not just leaders) that might lead to this signal and resist. It doesn't mean that failures are left unspoken.
At Main Sequence: We’ve been working on our process to get clarity to founders as soon as possible. Alezeia Brown wrote about it in Eating Our Own Dog Food.
Momentum is at the heart of my practice
A team or person with momentum can develop incredible performance and feel unstoppable. Like moving a physical object, it takes considerable effort to get started, and then it is easier to keep running.
I am interested in how we habitualise momentum. If our habits fuel momentum rather than interrupt it, they can drive consistent success.
Momentum creates momentum, and it matters how my day begins before I start influencing others. The simplest example of this is this idea from Admiral William McRaven:
“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed."
So, I start my day with a win. For me, it is making something. A post, a slide or just an image in Midjourney to reflect my coming day. It doesn't need to be huge, but it needs to feel like a win.
As I get into my day, I start working with others. Every action can kill momentum or fuel it. Even having a conversation with the team. Daniel Coyle in The Culture Code puts it well:
"the most effective listeners behave like trampolines. They aren't passive sponges. They are active responders, absorbing what the other person gives, supporting them, and adding energy to help the conversation gain velocity."