HubSpot Product Leadership on Our Product Culture

Summary

HubSpot's engineering culture is characterized by small, autonomous teams with a strong sense of ownership and customer focus. The environment is dynamic, fostering a culture of learning, challenges, and tenacity in problem-solving. Collaboration is key, with equal partnership among UX, Product, and Engineering teams, supported by a triad structure comprising product managers, technical leads, and product designers. The company values a supportive and empathetic atmosphere, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and mutual growth. HubSpot HEART embodies their core values: Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent. New employees are encouraged to make a positive impact and contribute to the company's evolution.

Takeaways

• 🤖 **Autonomy and Ownership**: HubSpot's engineering culture emphasizes the importance of autonomy and ownership, where engineers are encouraged to take responsibility for their part of the product and its success.
• 🛠 **Problem Solving**: The culture is characterized by tenacious problem solving, going beyond surface-level solutions to anticipate and delight customers.
• 💡 **Partnership**: Unlike cultures where product managers dominate, HubSpot fosters a partnership model where UX, Product, and Engineering work together as equals.
• 🔄 **Triad Structure**: A unique triad structure is in place, comprising a product manager, a technical lead, and a product designer, all accountable for the success of their product segment.
• 👥 **Empathy and Care**: The UX team is described as highly empathetic, with a strong sense of care for both team members and customers.
• 🤝 **Collaboration**: There's a strong emphasis on collaboration, with team members lifting each other up and valuing the 'assist' over individual achievements.
• 🌟 **Energy and Curiosity**: The team is described as energetic and deeply curious, always looking for ways to learn and grow together.
• 👍 **Positive Environment**: The culture is one where people are very nice to each other, creating a positive and supportive work environment.
• 💬 **Core Principles**: HubSpot HEART, which stands for Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent, underpins the core principles of the company's culture.
• 🚀 **Power to Change**: New employees at HubSpot are empowered to make a difference, positively affecting the company's operating system and contributing to its ongoing evolution.

Q & A

How would you characterize the engineering culture at HubSpot?

The engineering culture at HubSpot is dynamic, autonomous, and full of challenges and exciting opportunities to learn. It is defined by small, autonomous teams with a strong sense of ownership, solving for customers' values.

What is the role of empathy in the UX team's culture at HubSpot?

Empathy plays a significant role in the UX team's culture at HubSpot. The team is described as highly empathetic, caring, and passionate about each other and the customers.

What is the significance of autonomy and ownership in HubSpot's engineering culture?

Autonomy and ownership are central to HubSpot's engineering culture. Engineers are encouraged to own their part of the product, being accountable for it, their users' success, and how it fits into the ecosystem.

How does HubSpot empower its frontline employees to solve customer issues?

HubSpot empowers its frontline employees by giving them significant power to solve for the customer, emphasizing the importance of autonomy in addressing customer needs.

What is the approach to problem-solving in HubSpot's engineering culture?

HubSpot's engineering culture focuses on tenacious problem-solving, going beyond surface-level solutions and anticipating ways to delight customers and make them more successful.

How does the collaboration between UX, Product, and Engineering teams work at HubSpot?

At HubSpot, UX, Product, and Engineering teams partner as equals at every level of the organization. They work together through a triad structure, ensuring each part of the product is successful.

What is the triad structure in HubSpot's product development?

The triad structure consists of a product manager, a technical lead, and a product designer, all of whom are accountable for making their part of the product successful and understanding user needs.

How does the culture at HubSpot promote a supportive and collaborative environment?

The culture at HubSpot promotes a supportive and collaborative environment by encouraging team members to lift each other up, with an emphasis on mutual assistance and learning together.

What values are at the core of HubSpot's team culture?

The core values of HubSpot's team culture are humility, empathy, adaptability, remarkableness, and transparency, encapsulated in the acronym HEART.

How does HubSpot's culture encourage continuous growth and problem-solving?

HubSpot's culture encourages continuous growth and problem-solving by fostering an environment where team members are deeply curious, energetic, and committed to helping each other.

What is the message for new starters at HubSpot regarding their potential impact?

New starters at HubSpot are empowered to change the way the company works, affect the operating system positively, and contribute to the company's ongoing evolution and success.

Outlines

00:00

👥 Empowering Autonomous Teams

The HubSpot engineering culture is characterized by small, autonomous teams that take strong ownership of their work, driven by a customer-centric approach. The environment is dynamic and autonomous, offering a plethora of challenges and opportunities for learning. The culture emphasizes the importance of frontline employees in directly addressing customer needs, promoting a sense of autonomy and ownership among engineers. Engineers are encouraged to take responsibility for their product segments, ensuring user success and integration within the broader ecosystem. The team is also described as tenacious problem solvers, going beyond surface-level solutions to anticipate and delight customers. Collaboration is key, with a partnership approach between UX, Product, and Engineering, each playing an equal role in decision-making and product success. The team culture is also noted for its supportive and positive nature, with an emphasis on mutual assistance and collective growth.

Keywords

💡Autonomy

Autonomy in the context of the video refers to the freedom and independence granted to teams within HubSpot's engineering culture. It is a key principle that allows engineers to take full responsibility for their part of the product, driving innovation and ensuring accountability. The script highlights this by stating that HubSpot's engineering culture is 'built around the idea of autonomy and ownership,' which empowers engineers to be accountable for their users' success and their integration within the ecosystem.

💡Ownership

Ownership is closely related to autonomy and is a central theme in the video. It signifies the sense of responsibility and control that individuals have over their work. In the script, it is mentioned that HubSpot encourages engineers to 'own their part of the product,' which implies a deep commitment to the success of their projects and a personal stake in the outcomes, fostering a strong work ethic and pride in their contributions.

💡Empathy

Empathy is highlighted as a foundational aspect of the UX team's culture at HubSpot. It is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, which is crucial for creating user-centric products. The script describes the team as 'highly empathetic,' emphasizing their care for one another and their customers, which is vital for creating products that genuinely meet user needs and are designed with compassion.

💡Problem Solving

Problem solving is portrayed as an integral part of HubSpot's engineering culture. It is not just about addressing issues but doing so in a way that anticipates and delights customers. The script mentions that the team is 'tenacious problem solvers' who go 'beyond' surface-level solutions, indicating a proactive and innovative approach to overcoming challenges and enhancing customer satisfaction.

💡Partnership

Partnership in the video script refers to the collaborative relationship between UX, Product, and Engineering teams at HubSpot. It is a departure from a hierarchical structure where one role dominates decision-making. Instead, the script describes a 'triad structure' where each team member is an equal partner, working together to ensure product success and understanding user needs.

💡Triad Structure

The triad structure is a specific organizational model mentioned in the script that consists of a product manager, a technical lead, and a product designer. Each member of the triad is accountable for the success of their product segment, emphasizing a balanced and integrated approach to product development where all parties contribute equally to understanding and meeting user needs.

💡Accountability

Accountability is a key concept in the video, referring to the responsibility that HubSpot engineers have for their work and its impact on users. The script states that engineers are accountable 'for their users' success' and 'for how they fit in with the rest of the ecosystem,' which underscores the importance of personal responsibility and the impact of individual contributions on the larger system.

💡Supportive Environment

A supportive environment is characterized by mutual assistance and encouragement among team members. The script describes the team as one where people 'lift each other up,' likening the dynamic to a basketball team where 'the assist is worth more than the 3-pointer.' This analogy conveys the value placed on teamwork and the collective effort to achieve goals.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is presented as a driving force within HubSpot's culture, encouraging a continuous quest for knowledge and improvement. The script mentions that the team is 'deeply curious,' suggesting an eagerness to explore, learn, and innovate, which is essential for staying at the forefront of technological advancements and user needs.

💡Energy

Energy in the context of the video refers to the vibrant and dynamic atmosphere within the team. The script describes 'a ton of energy, good energy on this team,' indicating a positive and enthusiastic work environment that fosters creativity and productivity.

💡HubSpot HEART

HubSpot HEART is a core principle and value system within the company, encapsulated by the acronym Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent. The script explains that these values are sought in potential employees and are foundational to the company's culture. Being 'Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent' is not just about individual traits but about fostering a collaborative and ethical work environment.

Highlights

HubSpot engineering culture is defined by small, autonomous teams with a strong sense of ownership.

Dynamic, autonomous engineering culture with challenges and opportunities to learn.

UX team culture is highly empathetic, caring, and passionate about each other and customers.

Frontline employees have significant power to solve customer issues.

Engineering culture built around autonomy and ownership, with accountability for product and user success.

Engineers encouraged to be tenacious problem solvers, thinking beyond surface-level solutions.

Anticipating and delighting customers to make them more successful.

Product managers, not as bosses but as equal partners with UX and Engineering.

Triad structure of product manager, technical lead, and product designer for product success.

Team environment where people are very supportive and lift each other up.

Team described as deeply curious and energetic, with a positive energy.

Emphasis on helping each other and learning together.

Core principles include HubSpot HEART: Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, Transparent.

Seeking individuals who embody the HEART values for a positive work environment.

New employees have the power to change and positively affect the operating system.

Encouragement for continuous improvement and taking the company to the next steps.

Transcripts

The HubSpot engineering culture is really defined by small, autonomous teams with a

strong sense of ownership solving for our customers’ values.

HubSpot’s engineering culture is dynamic, autonomous, full of challenges and exciting

opportunities to learn. That’s how I would sum it up.

I would describe the culture on the UX team as, first of all, highly empathetic. I don’t

think I’ve ever worked with a group of people who were more caring and passionate about

each other, but also about customers.

The first thing that people notice when they work in our culture is how much power the

frontline folks have to solve for the customer.

HubSpot’s engineering culture is really built around the idea of autonomy and ownership.

We want our engineers to really own their part of the product, and that means being

accountable for it, being accountable for their users’ success, and also being accountable

for how they fit in with the rest of the ecosystem.

We are also really tenacious problem solvers. We don’t just think about solving at the

surface level. We go beyond that, and we’re always thinking about ways, anticipating,

how we can delight customers and make them more successful in their day-to-day.

There are some product cultures where product managers are the boss. They’re the CEO of

their team, and they’re in charge, to make the decisions and to tell people what to do.

That’s not how we work. We partner UX, Product, and Engineering as equals at every level of

the organization.

There’s a triad structure where, for each part of the product, you have the product

manager, you have the technical lead, and you have the product designer, all accountable

for making that part of the product successful, and for understanding their users and what

they need.

It’s also an environment where people are, frankly, very nice to each other. I’m really

proud of people on the team for how much they lift each other up. It’s almost like we’re

a basketball team where the assist is worth more than the 3-pointer.

We’re also deeply curious, and we also are very, very energetic. There’s a ton of energy,

good energy on this team.

We really believe in helping each other, like we’re raising all boats and we’re all

learning together. There are a lot of these different, really core principles that we

believe in, and at the foundation of all of that is what we call HubSpot HEART, which

is Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent. We’re always looking for

people like that because we love working with people who are humble, empathetic, adaptable,

remarkable, and transparent, and we believe that people who are that way will also love

working in this environment, too. It helps us all grow and solve problems for our customers

together.

The best thing that I could tell anybody new starting at HubSpot is that you have the power

to change the way that we work. You have the power to affect the operating system in a

positive way, and to take us on that next step, and the next step, and the next step.