Everyone's Responsibility: Building and Maintaining a Cross-Functional Growth Team
On the latest episode of Growth@Scale, host Matt Widdoes is joined by Yousuf Bhaijee, a growth advisor formerly of Zynga, Disney, and Ease for a discussion about the importance of building a cross-functional growth team. By fostering cross-functional communication, businesses unlock innovative strategies and solutions for growth that might otherwise remain undiscovered.
Cross-Functional Growth Strategies
Don’t confine growth to one department. Growth should be the goal across the whole organization. Successful growth strategies require integration across various departments, ensuring a cohesive approach. At Zynga, for instance, Yousuf managed cross-promotion between games, leveraging the company's vast network to optimize user retention and engagement, a clear example of cross-functional growth in action.
Leveraging Cross-Promotion and Retention
Cross-promotion, especially in a network as vast as Zynga's, offers a prime example of maximizing existing resources for growth. By strategically moving users between games, Zynga could maintain engagement and reduce churn, all without the need for external user acquisition efforts. This tactic not only saved costs but also leveraged the existing user base more effectively.
Hiring for Growth Roles
Hiring growth leaders can be an expensive and time consuming process. Yousuf recommends experimenting with a ‘Try Before You Buy’ approach. This strategy involves collaborating with potential hires on real problems before making a hiring decision, ensuring a mutual fit and reducing the high failure rates often associated with growth roles. It's a practical approach that allows both the company and the candidate to assess compatibility in real-world scenarios.
Building a Growth-Oriented Culture
A growth-oriented culture is fundamental. Yousuf advises founders and executives to deepen their understanding of growth. He suggests working with advisors to develop a growth mindset and align the hiring process with the company's specific growth needs and culture. This approach ensures that growth is embedded in the organization's DNA, transcending traditional departmental boundaries.
Growth is everyone’s responsibility. You can’t put the weight of the world on your “growth guy” and let the rest of the organization go about its business. Yousuf Bhaijee’s collaborative, holistic approach to growth aligns every department on shared, common goals and, if applied to your company, can put you on the path to sustainable, scalable growth.
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Episode 16– Disrupt, innovate, iterate – Yousuf Bhaijee – Growth Advisor, Ex-Disney, Zynga, Eaze
In our latest episode of Growth@Scale, Matt talks growth strategies with Yousuf Bhaijee, growth advisor and former VP of Growth at Disney, Zynga, and Eaze.
In this episode you’ll find insights on:
Evolving Growth Strategies: Yousuf discusses how growth strategies adapt and transform over time, especially with the advent of new technologies and market shifts. He emphasizes the shift from traditional paid acquisition to more innovative methods.
Creative Growth in Restricted Markets: Listen to how Yousuf navigated growth in the cannabis industry, utilizing unconventional channels like billboards and affiliate marketing to drive success.
Building Effective Growth Teams: Discover the nuances of assembling a dynamic team focused on growth, including Yousuf's 'try before you buy' approach for hiring in growth roles.
Prioritizing Growth Initiatives: Learn about the importance of a rigorous framework for prioritizing growth opportunities and the common pitfalls to avoid.
If you want a peek behind the curtain on how seasoned growth experts do what they do best, give this episode a listen.
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