What Tech failed to learn from Hollywood

Technology is the British Empire of 2024. At its peak, the British Empire spanned approximately 25% of the Earth’s land surface. In the peak of 2021, tech was riding a pretty exhilarating wave of economic fortune where we decided we needed a tech intervention in 100% of the zeitgeist. Tech for razors, plants, posture. You name it, tech’s grubby little hands were all over it.

In tech (part reality, part Cope) we need to think we’re making the world a better place, brick by miserable analogue brick. Because otherwise, what are we doing? What’s the point of all this innovation if it’s not taking something that was bad the way it was, and making it something easier, better, more enjoyable? (And, as a bonus, more profitable too? why not?)

So, with no stone un-turned, that’s why we went after Hollywood.

Tech asked the big questions:

1. Why go to the cinema when you can sit at home in your PJs?
2. Why buy a film when you can just pay a monthly subscription five times the cost of a film to only watch one miserable pilot episode of an Amazon Original and forget the subscription entirely?
3. Why agree to only one subscription when you can have five?
4. Why have no ads when you can instead, bizarrely, watch… ads…?

I give you the Tech Revolution! I’ve sold Tech to Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook, and, by gum, it put them on the map! Well, sir, there’s nothin’ on Earth like genuine bona-fide electrified subscription-based-MRR!

And Hollywood, rightly, saw the writing on the wall. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Mubi, Apple TV were coming for their lunch, and no one eats a Hollywood Film Exec’s lunch. Hollywood took notes and adapted, and now we have Max, Peacock, and Disney+.

Tech companies have a lot to teach other industries, that’s undeniable. We’ve got our agile methodologies, OKRs, subscription MRR, and enough snack walls to feed a town in my home state. But here’s a wild thought: maybe, just maybe, instead of taking everything back to the British Museum of Tech, we should have stopped to learn a thing or two ourselves.

Project-Based Teams — Because Monogamy is Overrated (in Work, at least)

You’re a hotshot Hollywood producer. You’ve got a script that’s going to change the world (or at least dominate The Discourse for a news cycle). Do you have a standing supply of Grips and Key Makeup Artists on the payroll? No. You assemble your team to the needs of your project: dynamic, flexible, and appropriate for the film. This is the Hollywood model of team building. And it’s got more to teach us now that we find ourselves in a strange new world of a bear market, reducing fixed costs and building lean-teams.

Hollywood doesn’t marry its teams. They have beautiful, intense project-based affairs. They come together, create magic, and then move on to the next big thing. It’s like speed dating, but for creativity.

In tech, we often get stuck in our comfortable, long-term team relationships, even if it costs us efficiency. For a long time the size of your headcount was a marker of success of some kind. “We’re a 250 fintech, looking to scale to 500 in the next 12 months.” Today, in this market, this is not the flex it once was. A leaner team with a bigger exit is much more attractive.

The idea that we need to build an empire of permanent employees is further outdated after rounds of redundancies and an unstable employment market is turning more folks towards fractional and self-employment.

For your next big feature or product launch, assemble a specific team for that project. Bring in people from different departments, maybe even throw in a few freelancers. Let them work together intensively, and then — here’s the kicker — let them go back to their day jobs or move on to the next exciting project. It’s not about breaking up your core teams; it’s about injecting fresh energy and ideas into your projects.

In Hollywood, they don’t just throw a bunch of actors in front of a camera and hope for the best. They bring together a wild mix of talent: directors with vision, cinematographers who can make a Manhattan Studio Apartment look like the Taj Mahal, sound engineers who can make a mumble feel like a shout, and actors who can make you believe they’re saving the world while standing in front of a green screen.

Now, look at your team. Time to shake things up! Bring in that fractional UX designer who thinks differently. Get that data scientist who can turn numbers into narratives. Hell, throw in a philosopher if you have to. The point is, diverse skills and perspectives aren’t just nice to have — they’re your ticket to innovation.

How to build an Oscar-worthy team

In tech we are building something specific, not just running the machinery. We’re not just running a company, often we’re making one. Start-ups and Scale-ups are actively working on launching anew platform, a community, a project. We need a specific skillset to get from A to B, but we still rely heavily on large core teams. Our org design sophistication, despite moving into squads and tribes, have remained largely centered on the idea of hoarding talent. And it’s hurt us before, and honey, it’ll hurt us again.

In tech, we often get comfort in our empire, because our own growth has been measured so regularly by how many folks you employ in your team. The market is making heacount-growth-as-success an impossible yardstick, but it was holding us back all along.

So I fire everyone?

Yeah no. That’s not it. Building strong core teams shouldn’t change. But the size and scope should. Making a company, like making a movie, requires a studio of steady-hands, adapting to the projects they’re launching. What it doesn’t require a back-bench for every challenge you may face on the way.

As we navigate the choppy waters of this new economic landscape, it’s time to take a page from Hollywood’s playbook. This isn’t about dismantling your team, but about reimagining how we approach innovation and execution.

In any market, success isn’t measured by headcount, but by the impact and efficiency of our output. So, as you plan your next big feature or product launch, ask yourself: are you assembling an all-star cast for a blockbuster?

Ok that’s all from me, folks. 👋

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