Diversity is a good thing when bringing a product to market. If you surround yourself with people who are like you and think like you, big trouble is ahead. Because when something unexpected happens outside of your normal frame of reference, there just isn't that much to draw upon.
Last week I was asked to describe a failure in any of my projects over the years, and I really had to stop and think. There weren't any. Pretty weird. Yes, during the projects, various portions crashed and burned big time, but the team always got their arms around it, and we tried something different. In the end, the projects delivered their objectives.
This got me to thinking why this was. Two reasons. First, we always created a shared vision of the end goal for the team and everyone on the team was excited about it. Next (and most importantly) it was a diverse team with an Eeyore on it. Eeyore always kept our eye on the ball and didn't let us drift into the stratosphere with our enthusiasm. And when Eeyore says "that should work" you can hear the collective sigh of the team. We were golden.
So be diverse, set high aspirations, clearly communicate and listen to Eeyore.
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