Fighting With Five Swords
There’s an interesting company called Intercom that I hadn’t heard of, until recently. They are a software-as-a-service business and provide customer service solutions to over 25,000 organisations around the world. And what got me interested in the company was their product engineering philosophy. They have a rule that’s helped them build solutions that are faster, better, and cheaper. And best of all, their philosophy can be summed up in three words: “Run Less Software”. Intercom’s former head of Ops – Rich Archbold – explains the philosophy using the analogy of a soldier and his swords.
Imagine he says, you are a soldier in the fifth century, all set to go to battle. You put on your body armour and the helmet. You pick up your shield. And then as you prepare to grab your sword, you realise there are five swords you can choose from. Different shapes and sizes, meant for different, specific purposes. One that’s great to attack a tall man, the other that’s just right to go after a shorter person. One to clear the bushes perhaps. And so on. To be fully prepared, and to win the battle, you’d be tempted to carry all five swords. But you know that would be impractical. It would weigh you down. It would slow down your progress. Besides, imagine seeing an enemy a few feet away from you and thinking “Oh! He’s so tall. I need to put away this sword and pull out the longer one!” Just wouldn’t work. So what do you do? You pick one sword – one you think would work in most cases – and run with it.
And that’s what the ‘run less software’ philosophy is all about. Stop looking for – or creating – products and solutions that take care of every possible eventuality. Over-engineered products appear sexy, but when it comes to doing every day stuff, they could be less effective. Less efficient too.
If you are leading a business, good idea to let the five swords analogy influence your strategy. Focus your product offering. Focus on your positioning in your customer’s mind. What’s the one thing you want to be known for? What’s the one thing your product or service does better than anyone else? Don’t succumb to the temptation to offer five swords. Stick to one. Remember, less is more. Customers aren’t always looking for the best, most comprehensive solution. In most cases all they are looking for is a solution. Focus on being the one providing that solution.
When hiring a person into your team, stop looking for five swords in one person. If you do, you’ll take a long, long time finding the person. And when you do find her or him, you’ll probably get an overqualified person for the job who is under-utilised and over-paid. And unhappy too. Focus on the skill, the competence you are looking for. The one sword you are looking for.
When buying something – a product or a service – good idea to start by identifying why you need it. What’s the problem you are looking to solve? Look for a solution that works. And when you find it, take it. It’s better. And cheaper too. Don’t let the bells and whistles entice you. Don’t get tempted by what it ‘can also do’. Or what you ‘might need’ someday. Remember the ‘run less software’ principle.
Carrying five swords is a bad idea. On the battlefield. And in life too.
