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MONTHLY Insights & Inspiration
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You have hard data on the jobs your target market needs done because you’ve already extracted that information from their minds through the hard work of research. It's time to innovate by hand-picking a team that will use that data to ideate a solution that provides a better experience than anyone else on the market.
You know the Jobs to Be Done that people within companies in your target market have, and the things they are pulling into their lives to get them done right now. The market forces are telling you that people want something better, and there's an opportunity to provide if you can just move fast enough.
The quickest way to success is to, as Steve Jobs famously said, "start with the customer experience, and work backwards to the technology." How might we solve the customer's problem in a way that better fits into their life and the way they currently work? You’re crazy enough to think you can do the Job better. And that's what innovation is all about.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of helping a lot of companies think through innovation initiatives. What I have found is that a team larger than seven typically can’t move fast enough. A team smaller than three usually doesn’t have a diverse enough perspective or skillset to be effective.
Just like Danny Ocean in Ocean's Eleven, we need to hand-pick the best individuals with the right contrast in perspectives and skillsets to have a shot at pulling off the Job (to Be Done).
It's important to take a second and point out that if you don't have hard data yet, it’s better that we start with my Extraction process and come back to this once we truly understand the progress customers are trying to make. If you already have that data, let's review it together so that I understand the full story before we commit to a project.
Nobody wants to spend their time coming up with ideas that never go to market. That's why I emphasize planning on the other side of identifying a solution. We will identify how operations would have to change to accommodate the winning idea, up to and including releasing it under a different brand name.
“New products succeed not because of the features and functionality they offer, but because of the experiences they enable.” - Clayton Christensen
We will need the following skills and personalities on the team for the best chance of success. A single person can fill more than one role, but I advise against one person filling more than three of these.
A single lead who has the authority to make decisions and be a visionary and galvanizing force for the team.
A big picture thinker who is able to go deep on his or her area of expertise. A strategic thinker who is able to see the multiple moves ahead. Generally from a design, product, or engineering background.
Understands the dynamics of the group and of the company at large. Able to read motivations and anticipate how big changes are going to affect people socially and emotionally.
They saw the need for this before anybody else. They don't always follow the rules, but they always have the team's best interest at heart. Outspoken and candid.
They know what it takes to get things done. They think about the little things and question over-enthusiastic estimations and overly simplistic plans. Usually a project manager.
They know the customer because they talk to them frequently. They have been waiting for someone to listen to their ideas for a long time, and they're happy something's finally happening.
A week-long intensive sprint where we use our research-backed knowledge of the customer to devise a strategy, generate new ideas, develop prototypes, and then test them to see if they will have traction with target customers. Prior to this, we will also preselect target customers for the testing phase.
We take the customer experience we want to create and work backwards to everything else needed to make it a reality.
How do operations need to change in order to support this new customer experience? Can the existing operational structure support them at all? Does your org structure need to change?
What changes to technology infrastructure need to occur in order to support the new customer experience? What is the path to complete those changes?
How do we go from point A to point B? We plan out how we get from current-state to future-state.
Want someone there to guide you long-term? On-going change management is available with The Pursuit.
If there's a real opportunity to fill a hole in the market, there’s no time to waste. Let’s have a conversation about how to make sure your company is the one to do the Job to Be Done better, make people's lives better, and earn a lot of revenue for your company as a result.
A two-week intensive with up to seven members of your team where we use Jobs to Be Done and Design Thinking to reimagine your products and services to unlock growth for your business.
Available add-ons: Proof of Concept Prototyping
Subscribe to the Experience Leader Newsletter, where I share what I am learning and what I am inspired by as I chase excellence alongside you.
