People: it's all about the people!

"Without human factor all the factors of production are useless"
Peter Drucker

From the moment a product team is set up, assuming you know enough about the people being part of the team, most likely you can predict whether the product is going to be successful or not.

It does not matter if you have the best technology in the world, the first-mover advantage, the funding, the idea, etc. "A good team can make a bad idea succeed and a bad team can fail with the perfect idea." 

The conundrum is, what to do when the team has been given and the product manager can't pick the people?

This is a usual problem in big companies: a manager is given a special project. He is smart, he is a top performer, he has the confidence to do it, but alas he can't pick the team. Resources are allocated depending on which resources are available at a given time and without much consulting to the manager the move is done and the project is officially set up.

Chances of success? Usually low, and when it happens it is pure randomness that the people factor worked well together (i.e. an optimal combination of talent, motivation, passion, curiosity, etc.).

Is there any way to increase the chances of success? Can we allow the manager to pick his own team? Do organizations know enough their employees in order to help the manager find the right talent at the right time? Are organizations set up in a flexible enough way to allow this impromptu organizational set ups? I am afraid the answer is no. Hopefully, not yet.


Photo: Hiroshi Manabe