Method CRM spent three years developing its new platform, originally projected to be ready within a year. Paul Jackson, its founder and CEO, couldn’t help noticing the slumps in the morale of his stakeholders. Employees seemed to work to no end, investors grew tired, and directors needed concrete advances. When asked about his strategies to boost the team’s spirits and provide proof points to all interested parties by Ben Kaplan for TOP CEO, here’s the success story he shared.

Ceteris paribus

A year and a half into re-platforming. Half a year past the original plan. Paul noticed people had started getting angry. He needed to provide a checkpoint, evidence that they were on the right track, making something worthwhile. It had to be engaging and fun, all while relating to the common goal they’d been aiming for that whole time. So Method held its first internal Shark Tank.

The staff was divided into teams of three to six members who had to develop an app using the unfinished platform and pitch it to a panel of judges. For the final event, the company rented a revered comedy house and had a night that had Paul thinking: “This is my favorite day as a CEO.” The participants had proved that no-code app building was possible, the future of workflow development.

Everyone was happy. For the first time, they could see what the vision was, tangible proof of what they were working on, the light at the end of the tunnel of delays. The board was satisfied and the whole company felt rejuvenated. The contest had eased tensions and promoted motivation.

However, this was fully in-house, with no need for full development of customer support systems or billing mechanisms. The competition was among co-workers with relatively similar know-how. This didn’t mean Method was ready to sell. The game had proven the platform to be a success in its own microcosm, but it wasn’t ready to see the light. Not yet.

Mutatis mutandis

Another year had passed. Morale had sunken once again. Paul sensed everything was fragile, on the verge of collapse. “If you don't do something major now everyone's gonna lose faith and it's gonna fall apart”, he thought. Suddenly, QuickBooks Connect came along, including a Hackathon with a $50,000 prize. The CEO knew this was it. At an all-hands meeting (in the presence of board members and venture capitalists), he vowed to enter the competition against all the Silicon Valley hackers and beat them.

Despite it being a big promise, he knew the spirit of competition worked to boost morale, and this could finally be a real proof point outside their controlled environment. Paul gathered his team and flew them out. Competing against 130 other developers, they all worked on an app overnight using their no-code system. By the next day, they had a functional payment software that landed them in the finals.

With a live stream up and all eyes on them, Method CRM actually won. Paul was relieved he’d kept his oath, but also ecstatic about what this victory meant. No-code could win over Silicon Valley experts. It was actually competitive in the market, and not just against rivals from the same company. It was the ultimate proof point that got the team through the last stretch.

Reaching the checkpoint

Six months after the Hackathon, Method’s new platform finally launched. A checkpoint. One that still needed improvement and was just a new starting line, but a checkpoint nonetheless. The delay had threatened to cause the project’s demise. It took a resourceful and relentless CEO to come up with engaging and useful activities to keep spirits high. Games like the Shark Tank and the Hackathon not only made the experience more fun and competitive (which usually brings out the fierceness in people), but also provided real evidence of the potential no-code had. 

Today, Method CRM still stands tall and mighty.

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