Spotify
Spotify’s organizational structure organizes people into squads, tribes, chapters, and guilds.
Squads are the smallest unit, with 6-12 individuals and one feature focus. The PM (or product lead) sits here, and they own the “what” and “why” with a great amount of authority.
Tribes are a conglomerate of squads, around 40-150 people. Then there are Chapters, discipline-specific groups cutting across squads. Finally, Guilds are voluntary communities where anyone can join to share knowledge. See photo for a visual representation.
AirBnb
AirBnb’s structure is described as PMM (Product Marketing Manager) and design-led, which means:
1) The traditional PM has less authority in the product, with a heavier marketing-focus. The CEO said himself, “you can’t develop products unless you know how to talk about the products.”
2) Designers are elevated in importance—no longer taking direction from PMs. The customer journey map is center of importance.
Zappos
Zappos adapted a “Holacracy model,” which organizes the company into self-managing “circles.” It seems more decentralized, but perhaps also disorganized.
Every employee was a part of multiple skill-based circles. The traditional manager is replaced by “Lead Links.” In this model, the PM seems nonexistent, with power distributed democratically.
Evidently, this model did not work well, as Zappos shifted its structure away from Holacracy amongst problems such as high employee turnover and internal friction.
As someone looking to work as a PM, Spotify’s model appeals to me the most. Not just because the PMs seem to have the most amount of “say,” but also because I find it easier to work within more tight-knit units. Understanding each person’s unique contributions and managing the distribution of those skills seem to be the most effective way to work in a team. It’s also the most similar to On Call Café’s organizational structure, where I hold a part-time job on campus!
