It’s a turning point in our Complete Growth Leader “Jumpstart” workshops that usually happens after the group has been briefed on the four key styles of the Complete Growth Leader model, as well as the five stages of STRIDE that every growth project follows.
The goal of the workshop is this: to take a compressed, strategic approach to breaking through the patterns of resistance that hobble most internal programs before they have a chance to meet (the stats say this happens to 8 out of 10 programs). We usually have a key internal sponsor attend and a cross-functional team that is going to watch over the project.
The result? Clarity, focus and momentum.
We then turn our group work to three key applications: developing the before and after “snapshots” of the value chain, the enterprise positioning statement, and finally, how the team needs to be built for success.
Then it’s time for some homework and next steps.
At the end of the workshop, we will have spent the whole day largely crafting the “success” scenario for their project. Now it’s time to begin the journey to creating robustness by structuring a set of experiments to move from the confirmation bias we call “fiction” to objective “reality” (R in the STRIDE model). Developing robust experiments begins with finding the fiction, and to do that, team members need to leave the conference room and seek out fresh insights.
Bring on the Curmudgeons
The first step here is for the team to go and proactively seek insight around ways that their scenario of success might be derailed. The reason this is so important, is that early on, the key risk to any organic program is internal resistance. It takes a carefully planned and executed approach to keep the voice of the customer alive.
In most organizations, there are members known for their keen insight around the dark side. The best are veterans of many projects who have seen a thing or two. It’s this kind of experience that gives you clear insight into just what might work.
Many times they have seen several fresh and new approaches meet their demise and can provide hard won lessons. There is usually initial reluctance to seek their experience (with team members worried about losing momentum), however they have a rich background that can balance the confirmation bias that can establish itself among cross-functional teams.
If you are a small firm you’ll need to improvise a bit – perhaps seek out resources from peer firms in other markets that would have insight into a specific area of your work. An outside consultant can also help you build your road map and provide ideas of how to derisk it as well.
The Homework
Actually setting up the discussion for successfully accessing that insight takes planning. In the workshop, we work on a clear and compelling summary of the work you are doing so that base is covered.
The key to unlocking your interviewee’s insights is to have a specific, well planned area of inquiry. To set the stage for a great discussion, I suggest using these three steps.
#1: Do Some Background Work
You need to spend some time online learning about your interviewee’s experiences so you can build a relevant bridge for them to help you with your work.
Be curious:
- What school did they go to?
- What was their first role and with which firm?
- What do they reference as important projects or milestones?
- What do they like on LinkedIn? Medium? Or?
#2: Prep a Great Sketch
It’s important to show that you’ve done your homework, and if you’ve completed the workshop, you are well on your way. I’ve found that if you’ve condensed your work onto a page or two, with a main sketch of what your project is about, it gets you off to a great start. If you don’t have a graphic depiction of your project, there’s an open source tool called Business Model Canvas that will give you a great start.
#3: Begin With a Couple of Great Questions
It’s important to develop a bit of relationship first, and the best way to do that is to open some discussion that is focused on them. Great opening questions begin with “I noticed …(interesting, yet obscure point that is relevant) when I was prepping for our chat today.”
Once the conversation is flowing, here are a few tips that will help you get the most from your meeting:
#1: Keep in Mind That You’re Looking for “Micro Insights”
Avoid the trap of getting stuck at 30,000 feet in your discussion. That sounds like “yeah, we tried that once and it didn’t work…” Instead, you want to get specific and ask questions like this, “I noticed that when you launched this new service, you chose to use this channel partner. How did they do? What gaps did they have?”
#2: You Need to Triangulate
When you feel like you’ve hit that point where you are circling the airport and not getting any closer, ask who else it would be good to have a chat with. By talking to three people who have had similar experiences, you can tease out the key insights more reliably. It’s not that any one person wants to mislead you, it’s just that we are all subject to doing some revising when we recall things.
#3: Take Advantage of the Lingering Thinking That Goes on After a Great Discussion
Lastly, be sure to leave the door open for a later phone follow up. Once you activate a resource like this, they inevitably continue to think about what you’ve discussed for days. Be sure to circle back to see if they’ve had any fresh thoughts since you’ve spoken.
By doing this ground work, you’ll soon have those “soft spots” identified and be ready to lean into part two of the “R” phase: assigning relative risks. We’ll pick this up in a future blog post.
In the meantime, if you’d like to take advantage of the practical work we take on in a “Jump Start” workshop, please feel free to reach me at 847-651-1014 or use this link to set up a call.
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