Hi,
Shapeshift’s the latest crypto project to go through a round of layoffs. This Tweet from Eric Vorhees caught my attention this week -
I scanned the post. Eric cites lack of focus as one of Shapeshift’s fundamental missteps.
As a company, we’ve made a thousand mistakes.
The most thematic has been a lack of focus.
I’ve spoken to at least one other well-known crypto project founder about this too. They cited the same cause, when discussing their project's layoffs.
It’s easy to become distracted when working in crypto. Shiny object syndrome is tough to resist in a space where exciting new ideas emerge daily.
I wrote about this back in September, in the context of motivating #BUIDL’er teams.
The new exciting thing is also the most dangerous motivation type. Jumping to the next new exciting usually means jumping out of the difficult finish, before it's finished. Doing this and not returning to the previous difficult finish initiates idea purgatory.
It feels refreshing to see teams realizing this. It’s unfortunate they had to feel some pain and let people go before doing so.
PM’s Add Focus
Effective project and product managers add focus to teams. Adding focus is fundamental to what we do. We help teams -
Understand what they should be working on and when
Stay focused until the work is completed and milestone achieved
Understand what to do next and how the work fits into a larger context
I feel hopeful that as more teams recognize the importance of focus, they’ll also recognize the value adding a PM to the team brings. Ultimately, this will lead to more projects shipping, validating the value we contribute.
This can create a virtuous cycle can for projects, their communities and PM’s alike.
And now, on to this week’s jobs…
Product Manager - Growth at 0x
Product Manager at Coda
Technical Program Director at Tezos Commons Foundation
Product Manager at Request Network Foundation
Senior Product Manager at Origin Protocol
Program Manager at Protocol Labs
Senior Product Manager at OmiseGo in Bangkok
Coinbase Pro Product Manager at Coinbase in San Francisco
Product Manager at Gnosis
Project Manager at Aragon DAC
Product Manager at Bloxroute Labs
Product Manager at Tendermint
Product Manager at Oasis Labs
Catch you next week,
Chris