Using the PMF Survey to gauge Company Fit For Purpose

How would you feel if you could no longer work the way we work here?

• Glad

• Not Disappointed

• Somewhat Disappointed

• Very Disappointed

Sean Ellis, the OG Growth Hacker, came up with the PMF survey question, which has become one of (if not the) established ways to gauge Product Market Fit:

If more than 40% of your existing customers answer “Very Disappointed,” you are well on your way.

Your way of working is also a Product. It also has customers. They’re called team members, associates, employees, whatever name you want to use.

The Structure, Process, Culture, and Tools are all part of this Product.

Would you dare run the PMF survey about the Company as the Product?

One interesting dynamic in the case of the Company is that the answer might shift significantly over time.

Have you ever spent time at a Scale-up?

There’s often this feeling of losing traction, even stalling. There was once energy, joy, and purpose. Everyone knew everything going on, and the team was small, aligned, and powerful.

Post-PMF the team is growing fast. The afterburner is on.

More people join, Leaders take over functions, and siloes are formed. New grown-up processes are added. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.

You almost don’t need to run the PMF survey on the company at that point. It’s pretty evident that most people wouldn’t be disappointed if the company could no longer work this way. Some would even be Glad. Nobody would be very disappointed.

So what do you do?

You start developing and iterating your Company as a Product, working to regain PMF.

This is also what I do. I help leaders see, develop and iterate their organizations using product thinking and techniques.