GROWTH HACKING HUMANS.

• Author: Herndon, Jason
• Position: SILICON SLOPES

Here at RAIN, we work on some cutting-edge technology. We are helping to define what voice interactions look like on platforms like Alexa, Google Assistant and Cortana. We are pioneering new frontiers in UX. We build some of the coolest stacks for the largest companies in the world, and for fun, we dabble in AR, VR and robotics. We're restless for a living. And yet--as emerging tech-focused as we are, some of the problems we face aren't technical.

From the outside looking in, giant companies like Amazon, Apple or Facebook sometimes appear to be well-oiled machines, working in perfect synchronization. But the best companies haven't growth hacked their company--they've growth hacked their people. Human problems can't be solved by understanding your market, your technology or your organization any better. To solve them, you have to learn to "hack humans."

UNDERSTAND YOUR TEAM, AND YOURSELF

When we think about how a project or company might fail, we're likely to blame tight deadlines, limited resources and misunderstood objectives. And while those are all real, so are the expectations and mindsets of the people who operate in those deadlines, resources and objectives.

We generally don't stop and ask ourselves: "In what ways is this project or product likely to cause us stress, and how can I mitigate that now?" But we absolutely should. We're real human beings. We have hopes and fears, and are allowed to be overwhelmed, frustrated or stressed. And guess what? So is everyone else on your team.

If you're a team leader, ask yourself, do you know what makes everyone on your team stressed? Don't just say something like "deadlines" ... some people thrive in deadlines! Take a look at each member of your team and spend a few minutes thinking about what makes them tick. What projects do they love? When are they most excited? When are they most likely to rip their hair out? And if you don't know those answers, grab a bite to eat with them and find out. Ask questions and dig deep until you understand yourself and your team. There's zero substitute for knowing how you and those around you will operate under both normal and stressful conditions.

HANDLE CONFLICT WELL

When it comes to conflict or trouble within a company, it's not "if," but "when." The best thing you can do when a conflict or problem arises on a project is to meet it, head on. Even for conflict that goes beyond things like "design was late" to something more specific like "John is being...