When you picture a pirate ship, you might imagine chaos: rum-fueled arguments, shouting over crashing waves, and a parrot squawking orders from the captain’s shoulder. But historically, pirate crews were democratic, effective, and organized. In short, they were good teams.
Therefore, they have a lot to teach us about how to run modern product teams.
Both pirate ships and product teams operate in high-stakes environments, often with limited resources and enormous pressure. Success depends not on who shouts the loudest, but on clarity of roles, strong working agreements, and deep trust among the crew.
And the key to holding all that together?
The Pirate Code.
The Pirate Code, Explained
Long before "Agile" or "Scrum" hit the scene, pirates were creating their own ways of working documents. Known as the pirate code, articles of agreement, or ship’s charter, these were formalized rules crafted collectively by each crew before setting sail.
These agreements covered:
Roles and responsibilities
Behavioral expectations
Reward distribution
Conflict resolution
Each crew tailored its code to their mission, signed it together, and often posted it in a visible place on the ship. It wasn’t top-down governance — it was an alignment tool, designed to keep everyone rowing in the same direction (sometimes literally).
Sound familiar?
Working Agreements: Then and Now
Pirate codes may have included rules about rum rations or gambling on deck, but the goals were timeless:
Prevent in-fighting
Maintain loyalty
Create shared understanding
Today, we call these "ways of working" or "team agreements," and they do the same thing. When done well, they provide clarity and consistency across your product team — especially when it’s cross-functional and distributed.
Here are a few examples of how pirate-era challenges show up in modern teams:
Cramped Quarters = Zoom Fatigue
Pirates lived shoulder to shoulder in hammocks below deck. Your remote team might not be sharing salted pork and sea air, but working in constant Slack threads and back-to-back meetings isn’t far off. Understanding the expectations of those around you is paramount to not causing additional frustration or resentment.
Crew Norms
Pirate codes were incredibly specific, even outlining bedtimes and chores. Your team might align on “no meetings before 10am Eastern,” or “acknowledge Slack messages by EOD.” These seemingly small decisions reduce tension and improve flow.
Rewards and Risks
Pirates clearly defined how loot was split and what happened if someone was wounded. Similarly, modern teams need clarity on things like:
How success is shared
What happens when priorities shift
Who owns what (and when)
Six Things to Include in Your Product Team’s Pirate Code
If you're writing or revisiting your team's ways of working doc, consider covering these six areas:
🧭 Principles & Values
What’s your product’s mission? What values or principles guide how you work together and the decisions you make?⚙️ Processes & Workflows
How does work get done — from research and design to QA and release? What does a proper handoff look like?📣 Communication & Collaboration
What Slack channels exist and how should they be used? What is the cadence of meetings and who needs to attend? How is feedback shared?🛠️ Tools & Technology
Which platforms does your team use for design / project management / analytics / etc. and how do they connect or integrate?🧑✈️ Roles & Responsibilities
Who owns what? What’s the decision-making structure?📜 Norms & Expectations
Think of these as the team’s behavioral agreements — camera policies, emoji etiquette, response expectations, and escalation paths.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of naming your behaviors. A well-phrased motto like “Talk less, do more” or “Find the yes” can become a north star for your team culture.
Why Trust Is the Real Treasure
The real goal of all of this? Trust.
You can’t build a high-performing product team without it. Especially in remote or hybrid environments, trust is what allows teams to take risks, speak candidly, and show up as their full selves. The heart of the pirate code is building trust and loyalty within a crew.
To understand how that plays out, we can use the model of the Trust Equation, coined by The Trusted Advisor:
Trustworthiness = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-Orientation
Let’s break it down: you build trust by increasing:
Credibility = your expertise and accuracy
Reliability = your consistency and follow-through
Intimacy = your emotional safety and connection
And decreasing:
Self-orientation = how much you're focused on yourself vs. the team
How? Build trust by:
Delivering consistently
Creating space for vulnerability
Prioritizing team success over ego
Every time your team upholds the shared code — by following through, giving honest feedback, or asking for help — you're reinforcing a culture of trust.
Bringing It Ashore
The Pirate Code wasn’t just a set of rules — it was a survival strategy. It enabled a diverse crew to live, work, and thrive together under pressure.
Your product team may not be chasing treasure, but you are navigating complexity, uncertainty, and constant change. A clear, living ways-of-working agreement can be your anchor.
So take a page from the pirate playbook:
Write your agreements together.
Make it visible.
Revisit it regularly.
You won’t just be guiding behavior; you’ll be building the kind of team that’s ready to weather any storm.