doerrs-lawlisted

# Doerr's Law > "We need teams of missionaries, not teams of mercenaries." > — John Doerr, ~2015 (popularized by Marty Cagan) ## The core idea A **mercenary** team works for the reward — they build what they're told, deliver the output, and move on. They're optimized for compliance and execution of a spec. A **missionary** team works for the mission — they believe in what they're building, they care about the customer, and they're intrinsically motivated to solve the right problem. They challenge bad ideas, own outcomes (not just outputs), and go beyond the spec when needed. The difference in what these two kinds of teams produce is enormous. ## What mercenary teams look like - They execute roadmap items without questioning whether those items are the right things to build. - They measure success by shipping features, not by customer outcomes. - They feel like a service bureau: "give us a spec and we'll build it." - Product decisions get escalated rather than made by the team. - High turnover; team members don't feel invested in success. ## What missionary teams look like - They push back on requirements that won't serve customers. - They understand the "why" behind every initiative. - They feel accountability for outcomes, not just delivery. - They have autonomy to decide *how* to achieve goals. - They care enough to disagree — and then commit. ## How to build missionary teams **Give them real problems, not prescribed solutions.** Instead of "build a notification