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Captain Planet, he’s our hero.
I don’t remember a lot of the cartoons from my childhood. Captain Planet, I remember well.
The show is worth remembering, both for the nostalgia of childhood before smart devices, and for what it means for building an effective product team.
Mini Backstory: Gaia is our visionary CEO
We know Captain Planet, but lets start with Gaia. The Spirit of the Earth, akin to Mother Nature. She created Captain Planet, and mentors the 5 Planeteers. She has control over all the powers of nature, and her health is intrinsically linked the Earth’s.
When the earth suffers, she suffers.
Gaia runs a pretty cool company. “Uber for Environmental Protection”.
Her company is staffed with five Planeteers. They’re the doers. The problem solvers. The ones with the tools to effect change. When they can’t beat a challenge on their own, their powers combine to create Captain Planet.
The Product Team you wish you had
Below are 7 things about this team that make them effective in their mission. The implied call to action here is to think about how you can bring these qualities to your team.
1. Clear direction and mission
The Planeteers are on some Tesla-level mission game. There is no question in anyone’s mind what the team is striving towards. It isn’t marketing language, it’s actually what they’re meant to do.
Just watch the intro video. Think of it as a company promo, product launch video, or Super Bowl ad. Any way you shake it, the message is unconfusable (not a word).
Zoom, swish, zap2. Focused on solving problems, not fabricating solutions
Gaia uses her Planet Vision from the Crystal Chamber (heck yes) to find the most significant destruction happening in the world. The team assembles around the problem, and works together to solve it.
Sure, there are lots of problems, lots of bad people doing bad things. But in Gaia’s wisdom, her team aims to make the most impact when targeting what needs them most.
Others create solutions for problems/needs/challenges that don’t exist, or fabricate those problems in their heads to justify their product’s existence. Gaia’s team targets one problem at a time.
Product strategy means saying noMa-Ti runs deep3. A lofty goal that makes the world a better place
The Planeteers aren’t joining forces to make Facebook’s child messaging app. They aren’t designing dark patterns for LinkedIn to get more premium signups. They’re working to protect the planet.
And they’re obsessed with it.
Is your product team invested in your product? Is your product even worth investing heart and soul into? Even if it isn’t saving the world, is it worth 3–6 adults dedicating most of their waking hours to it?
Tell ’em, Kwame!4. A team made up of diverse skills in collaboration
The team of Planeteers each bring a unique power to the table. Earth, fire, wind, water, and heart. It’s magical. Their rings summon the elements.
But solo, they can’t much. Unless they work together, their powers aren’t fully realized. Kwame harnesses the earth’s power to do things, but without the team, getting to that big goal wont happen.
And no, Captain Planet is not the unicorn in this scenario. Unicorns are magical creatures that don’t exist, even in this cartoon world.
5. A team made up of diverse backgrounds
The show did what most shows still can’t/wont do. It had a diverse team not for image. They did it to say that you can’t save the world without representing the world’s people.
Their beneficiaries (users) are global, and the product team needed to represent their users. And not only are they on the team, but they are all actively involved in building solutions.
Maybe you thought Captain Planet was the leader of the Planeteers. But it’s Gaia. She is strategic, well versed in the world and it’s challenges, and has a deep emotional connection with all its inhabitants.
Best of all, she’s authentic in her mission. She’s a role model to her team.
Can you say the same for your company’s leadership?
If you’re a team member, you might not have the power to change leadership, but you can be your best self and grow into the leader you wish you had.
Who knows, maybe you’ll be the one calling the shots soon enough.
7. An empowered team (“The power is yours!”)
At the end of the theme song, and whenever the Planeteers save the earth from destruction, Captain Planet says, “The Power is yours!”. This reinforces that if they work together, they can actually save the planet. It’s up to them/us.
How’s that for empowerment?
Captain Planet is the team’s potential fully realized. The team culture supports implementing work by elevating the individuals on the team.
Empowerment is woven into the relationship between the Planeteers, Gaia, and their mission. It’s not Gaia who has the power. It’s not some middle manager either.
If a product team doesn’t run in a way that gives each member empowerment, agency, and autonomy to contribute to the whole, then the power is not theirs.
It isn’t anybody’s.
It just becomes a struggle, and the team will feel beaten down and tired. Eventually, there will be turnover, and the cycle begins again.
Don’t be like that. Empower the team by word and — most importantly — by action and example.
Be more like Captain Planet’s product team.
Thank you for reading! I’m very gracious and hope you enjoyed it. Please share your comments 💬 and clap if you enjoyed it (1👏 to 50👏👏), and share with your friends and colleagues 🌎.
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Why Captain Planet’s product team is better than yours was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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