Measuring the success of the growth team is a tougher question. Every team from product, to marketing, to operations indirectly influences growth. This leads to some questions and challenges: “Why have a growth team? Doesn’t everyone own growth?” 

If you have a weekly one hour team meeting, it better have high ROI.  The dollar cost of that meeting for a team of five is about $13K per year.  A team of ten is $26K per year. (w/ conservative assumption of $100K average salary+benefits+office+etc per team member)  That isn't including the opportunity cost and cost of disrupting someone.  So reality is likely much higher.  How do you run a meeting that gets results?

There are two attachments that are corrosive for growth teams.  Learn what they are, how to avoid them, what behaviors you should be attached to, and how to encourage them.  

At any given time our growth team is focused in on the highest impact area we can work on given limited resources.  We determine that by going through our growth process (link) using growth models to guide us.  That means we might focus on virality for a period, then first seven day retention, then activation rate.  At some point our team will be big enough to have full time people on each one of those areas.  But even at that point there is one thing we always keep in mind...Growth Is Never Done.

Warren Buffet gives the advice "If it isn’t the most important thing, avoid it at all costs.”   Peter Thiel use to famously walk around the Paypal offices and refuse to talk to you unless it was about your currently assigned number one initiative.  It’s no secret that I’m a big believer that focus wins professionally and personally...