Accelerate Beyond The Lean Startup

@RachelAWestonRachel Weston Rowell

@zachniesZach Nies

The Lean Startup applied a very small subset of Lean to high uncertainty environments. There is so much more from Lean that can be used to accelerate your business.

Lean for Startups

Company OS

Create Coherent behaviors, decisions

and sense of purpose

Impact Uncertainty

Strategy

Surface key risks/unknowns and take

focused action

Kanban

do more of the right work faster by visualizing and

optimize the flow of work

maintain a shared understanding of the

essence of your business

Lean Canvas

Business Model Canvas

value Proposition Canvas

orProgress

ExperimentsFrameBuildMeasureLearn

improvementsPlanDoCheckAdjust

Experience Report

Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orcoherenceEnergy

alignment

obstaclesopportunities

unknownsrisks

Integrate learningdaily

Integrate learningMonthly


Integrate learningquarterly

Progress

Learning

Learning

Learning



FocusExperiments

ImprovementsTactics

Accelerate with Lean

Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orProgress



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Why: Our core beliefs Create coherent behaviors through shared beliefs

How: Our guiding heuristics Create coherent decisions through shared heuristics

What: Our aspirational destination Create energy and alignment through a shared goal

Base

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Coll

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d Dav

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Company Operating System Company: date:

Core purpose Your core purpose is the reason your company exists. It should capture the motivation behind the work you do. It should inspire your work while being beyond achievement.

Does this purpose inspire you? Are you proud to be part of this purpose? 100 years from now, will it still inspire? does this purpose help you imagine possible opportunities outside of your current situation? Does this purpose help you understand what opportunities you won’t pursue in the future? How will a cynic respond to this purpose?

Core values Your core values are the essential and enduring shared beliefs. These beliefs are so fundamental and strongly held that they will often go unchanged for many decades.

Would these values make sense outside your current context? Would you want future generations to live by these core values? Would you honor these values even if they became a competitive disadvantage? Will you hire and fire based on these values? Would you quit before compromising any of these values? If you created a new context, would it have these values?

guiding heuristics Guiding heuristics establish a common approach to decision making that creates aligned decisions. the heuristics should give clear, concise, high-level guidance about what to do and what not to do. Think of these as long standing mantras that will guide the decisions you make. The heuristics should be coherent with each other, the power is in the whole, not the parts.

Are these heuristics specific enough to guide your thinking and general enough to stand the test of time? Do these heuristics help you turn strategy into action? Do these heuristics provide decision making clarity independent of the situation surrounding the decision? Do you believe in the heuristics to the point where you will let them guide you in good times and in bad times?

Audacious Goal An Audacious goal is a huge and daunting challenge expressed as a clear and compelling goal.

Is the goal SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound)? Is the goal easy to understand and remember? Will it be a stretch to achieve this goal? Does the goal inspire you and others? will achieving the goal require improvement and growth?

aspirational destination A vision clearly describes what it will be like to achieve your Audacious Goal.

Is the vision engaging enough to create strong emotions for those involved? Is the vision articulated in a way that you can vividly picture this destination? Does the vision inspire you by painting the destination of a grand adventure?

Why: Our core beliefs Create coherent behaviors through shared beliefs

How: Our guiding heuristics Create coherent decisions through shared heuristics

What: Our aspirational destination Create energy and alignment through a shared goal

Based on work done by: Rally Software, Jim Collins, simon sinek, and David Snowden

Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orProgress



https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/69821764

Gain CreatorsDescribe how your products and services create customer gains.

How do they create benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised by, including functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings?

Do they…Create savings that make your customer happy?(e.g. in terms of time, money and effort, …)

Produce outcomes your customer expects or that go beyond their expectations?(e.g. better quality level, more of something, less of something, …)

Pain Relievers

Copy or outperform current solutions that delight your customer?(e.g. regarding specific features, performance, quality, …)

Make your customer’s job or life easier?(e.g. flatter learning curve, usability, accessibility, more services, lower cost of ownership, …)

Create positive social consequences that your customer desires?(e.g. makes them look good, produces an increase in power, status, …)

Do something customers are looking for?(e.g. good design, guarantees, specific or more features, …)

Fulfill something customers are dreaming about?(e.g. help big achievements, produce big reliefs, …)

Produce positive outcomes matching your customers success and failure criteria?(e.g. better performance, lower cost, …)

Help make adoption easier?(e.g. lower cost, less investments, lower risk, better quality, performance, design, …)

Rank each gain your products and services create according to its relevance to your customer. Is it substantial or insignificant? For each gain indicate how often it occurs.

Describe how your products and services alleviate customer pains. How do they eliminate or reduce negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the job done?

Do they…Produce savings?(e.g. in terms of time, money, or efforts, …)

Make your customers feel better?(e.g. kills frustrations, annoyances, things that give them a headache, …)

Fix underperforming solutions?(e.g. new features, better performance, better quality, …)

Put an end to difficulties and challenges your customers encounter?(e.g. make things easier, helping them get done, eliminate resistance, …)

Wipe out negative social consequences your customers encounter or fear?(e.g. loss of face, power, trust, or status, …)

Eliminate risks your customers fear?(e.g. financial, social, technical risks, or what could go awfully wrong, …)

Help your customers better sleep at night?(e.g. by helping with big issues, diminishing concerns, or eliminating worries, …)

Limit or eradicate common mistakes customers make?(e.g. usage mistakes, …)

Get rid of barriers that are keeping your customer from adopting solutions?(e.g. lower or no upfront investment costs, flatter learning curve, less resistance to change, …)

Rank each pain your products and services kill according to their intensity for your customer. Is it very intense or very light? For each pain indicate how often it occurs. Risks your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the job done?

Products & ServicesList all the products and services your value proposition is built around.Which products and services do you offer that help your customer get either a functional, social, or emotional job done, or help him/her satisfy basic needs?

Which ancillary products and services help your customer perform the roles of:

Buyer(e.g. products and services that help customers compare offers, decide, buy, take delivery of a product or service, …)

Co-creator(e.g. products and services that help customers co-design solutions, otherwise contribute value to the solution, …)

Transferrer(e.g. products and services that help customers dispose of a product, transfer it to others, or resell, …)

Products and services may either by tangible (e.g. manufac-tured goods, face-to-face customer service), digital/virtual (e.g. downloads, online recommendations), intangible (e.g. copyrights, quality assurance), or financial (e.g. investment funds, financing services).Rank all products and services according to their importance to your customer.

Are they crucial or trivial to your customer?

GainsDescribe the benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised by. This includes functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings.

Which savings would make your customer happy?(e.g. in terms of time, money and effort, …)

What outcomes does your customer expect and what would go beyond his/her expectations?(e.g. quality level, more of something, less of something, …)

How do current solutions delight your customer?(e.g. specific features, performance, quality, …)

Pains

Customer Job(s)

Describe negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks that your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the job done.

What does your customer find too costly?(e.g. takes a lot of time, costs too much money, requires substantial efforts, …)

What makes your customer feel bad?(e.g. frustrations, annoyances, things that give them a headache, …)

How are current solutions underperforming for your customer?(e.g. lack of features, performance, malfunctioning, …)

What are the main difficulties and challenges your customer encounters?(e.g. understanding how things work, difficulties getting things done, resistance, …)

What negative social consequences does your customer encounter or fear? (e.g. loss of face, power, trust, or status, …)

What risks does your customer fear?(e.g. financial, social, technical risks, or what could go awfully wrong, …)

What’s keeping your customer awake at night?(e.g. big issues, concerns, worries, …)

What common mistakes does your customer make?(e.g. usage mistakes, …)

What barriers are keeping your customer from adopting solutions? (e.g. upfront investment costs, learning curve, resistance to change, …)

Rank each pain according to the intensity it represents for your customer.Is it very intense or is it very light.? For each pain indicate how often it occurs.

Describe what a specific customer segment is trying to get done. It could be the tasks they are trying to perform and complete, the problems they are trying to solve, or the needs they are trying to satisfy.

What functional jobs are you helping your customer get done? (e.g. perform or complete a specific task, solve a specific problem, …)

What social jobs are you helping your customer get done? (e.g. trying to look good, gain power or status, …)

What emotional jobs are you helping your customer get done? (e.g. esthetics, feel good, security, …)

What basic needs are you helping your customer satisfy? (e.g. communication, sex, …)

Besides trying to get a core job done, your customer performs ancillary jobs in different roles. Describe the jobs your customer is trying to get done as:

Buyer (e.g. trying to look good, gain power or status, …)

Co-creator (e.g. esthetics, feel good, security, …)

Transferrer (e.g. products and services that help customers dispose of a product, transfer it to others, or resell, …)

Rank each job according to its significance to your customer. Is it crucial or is it trivial? For each job

indicate how often it occurs.Outline in which specific context a job

is done, because that may impose constraints or limitations.

(e.g. while driving, outside, …)

What would make your customer’s job or life easier?(e.g. flatter learning curve, more services, lower cost of ownership, …)

What positive social consequences does your customer desire?(e.g. makes them look good, increase in power, status, …)

What are customers looking for?(e.g. good design, guarantees, specific or more features, …)

What do customers dream about?(e.g. big achievements, big reliefs, …)

How does your customer measure success and failure?(e.g. performance, cost, …)

What would increase the likelihood of adopting a solution?(e.g. lower cost, less investments, lower risk, better quality, performance, design, …)

Rank each gain according to its relevance to your customer. Is it substantial or is it insignificant? For each gain indicate how often it occurs.

strategyzer.com

The Value Proposition Canvas

Value Proposition Customer Segment

The makers of Business Model Generation and StrategyzerCopyright Business Model Foundry AG

Produced by: www.stattys.com

The Business Model Canvas

Revenue Streams

Channels

Customer SegmentsValue PropositionsKey ActivitiesKey Partners

Key Resources

Cost Structure

Customer Relationships

Designed by: Date: Version:Designed for:

designed by: Strategyzer AGThe makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

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What are the most important costs inherent in our business model? Which Key Resources are most expensive? Which Key Activities are most expensive?

is your business moreCost Driven (leanest cost structure, low price value proposition, maximum automation, extensive outsourcing)Value Driven (focused on value creation, premium value proposition)

sample characteristicsFixed Costs (salaries, rents, utilities)Variable costsEconomies of scaleEconomies of scope

Through which Channels do our Customer Segments want to be reached? How are we reaching them now?How are our Channels integrated? Which ones work best?Which ones are most cost-efficient? How are we integrating them with customer routines?

channel phases1. Awareness

How do we raise awareness about our company’s products and services?2. Evaluation

How do we help customers evaluate our organization’s Value Proposition?3. Purchase

How do we allow customers to purchase specific products and services?4. Delivery

How do we deliver a Value Proposition to customers?5. After sales

How do we provide post-purchase customer support?

For what value are our customers really willing to pay?For what do they currently pay? How are they currently paying? How would they prefer to pay? How much does each Revenue Stream contribute to overall revenues?

For whom are we creating value?Who are our most important customers?

Mass MarketNiche MarketSegmentedDiversifiedMulti-sided Platform

What type of relationship does each of our Customer Segments expect us to establish and maintain with them?Which ones have we established? How are they integrated with the rest of our business model?How costly are they?

examplesPersonal assistanceDedicated Personal AssistanceSelf-ServiceAutomated ServicesCommunitiesCo-creation

What Key Activities do our Value Propositions require?Our Distribution Channels? Customer Relationships?Revenue streams?

categories ProductionProblem SolvingPlatform/Network

What Key Resources do our Value Propositions require?Our Distribution Channels? Customer Relationships?Revenue Streams?

types of resourcesPhysicalIntellectual (brand patents, copyrights, data)HumanFinancial

Who are our Key Partners? Who are our key suppliers?Which Key Resources are we acquiring from partners?Which Key Activities do partners perform?

motivations for partnershipsOptimization and economy Reduction of risk and uncertaintyAcquisition of particular resources and activities

What value do we deliver to the customer?Which one of our customer’s problems are we helping to solve? What bundles of products and services are we offering to each Customer Segment?Which customer needs are we satisfying?

characteristicsNewnessPerformanceCustomization“Getting the Job Done”DesignBrand/StatusPriceCost ReductionRisk ReductionAccessibilityConvenience/Usability

typesAsset saleUsage feeSubscription FeesLending/Renting/LeasingLicensingBrokerage feesAdvertising

fixed pricingList PriceProduct feature dependentCustomer segment dependentVolume dependent

dynamic pricingNegotiation (bargaining)Yield ManagementReal-time-Market

Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orProgress



Level of UncertaintyLow High

Degr

ee of

Impa

ctLo

wHi

gh

Impact & Uncertainty Based on work done by Rally Software

Past example where the solution was obvious to

everyone

Past example where you had no time to think, and you knew you had to act immediately

Past example where an expert, after some

analysis, knew how to help you

Past example where the data supported

multiple hypotheses and only in hindsight

could you understand the correct solution

background

Why does it matter that this problem be solved or improvement made?

Current Conditions

Describe the current situation, by including facts, data, figures, pictures, etc that demonstrate you’ve experienced the situation first hand.

Goals and Targets

What is the desired future state? Describe what will improve, be specific.

Risks and Dependencies

What things may prevent you from making this improvement?

recommendations

What will circumvent the obstacles between you an your goals? Consider many options and rank them by viability, feasibility, desirability and sustainability. Show how addressing the root causes of the obstacles will lead to achieving your goals.

actions

What sequence of major actions will accomplish your improvement?

Unresolved Issues

What further learnings are necessary to gain before you can make this improvement?

analysis

What obstacles are preventing you from achieving your goal? What are the causes of those obstacles? Why do those obstacles exist? What cause-and-effect relationships indicate those obstacles are preventing you from achieving your goals?

Company Name: Improvement:

Date:Version:Improvement Worksheet Based on work done by Rally Software

Experiment Name Experiment Name Experiment Name Experiment Name

Desired learning Desired learning Desired learning Desired learning

What do you want to learn and why? How will this experiment build evidence about the true nature of the environment?




Hypothesis to test Hypothesis to test Hypothesis to test Hypothesis to test

[Specific repeatable action] will create [expected specific, measurable, relevant and time-bound result].State your hypothesis as an if/then assertion. Is this hypothesis falsifiable?




Describe experiment Describe experiment Describe experiment Describe experiment

Describe the experiment you plan to run and how it can falsify your hypothesis. What steps are needed to run the experiment?




Safety and recovery Safety and recovery Safety and recovery Safety and recovery

What about your experiment method protects you from harmful side effects?How will you undo the experiment upon completion or if you discover it is no longer safe to run?




I-2

Background

Describe the Guess, Hunch, Assumption, Risk, or Unknown you want to investigate further. Why is it critical to build evidence about the true nature of this uncertainty? Describe the dynamically changing environment surrounding this uncertainty and why expertise alone isn’t sufficient to create understanding.

Managing the Experiments

What limits or guiding principles will you apply to the experiments? How will people know they’re about to go too far with an experiment? Do you need to establish working agreements with any stakeholders before running these experiments?

How will you foster a diversity of background and opinion among the people running the experiments? How will you make it safe for them to constructively disagree with each other?

How will you communicate the progress and learnings from the experiments? How will you help people see the emerging patterns?

Degree of Impact

What impact will not knowing the true nature of this Guess, Hunch, Assumption, Risk, or Unknown have? What other uncertainties may be impacted by the evidence you generate around this uncertainty?

Experiment Worksheet

Based on work from Rally Software.

Current Performance, Gaps, and Targets

What objective data tells the story of how you got to your current situation?

Reactions and Reflections

React to and reflect on the above data, what did you learn?

Rationale Going Forward

What does the above learning imply about your goals for the future?

Risks and Dependencies

What things may prevent you from achieving your objectives or key results?

Primary Objective Secondary Objective Secondary Objective

What primary objective will help you achieve your strategy?

What objective will help you achieve your strategy?

What objective will help you achieve your strategy?

Key Results Key Results Key ResultsWhat specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound metrics will indicate you have achieved your primary objective?

What specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound metrics will indicate you have achieved your objective?

What specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound metrics will indicate you have achieved your objective?

Actions Actions ActionsWhat sequence of major actions will accomplish your primary objective and key results?

What sequence of major actions will accomplish your objective and key results?

What sequence of major actions will accomplish your objective and key results?

Unresolved Issues Unresolved Issues Unresolved IssuesWhat further learnings are necessary to gain before you can achieve your primary objective and key results?

What further learnings are necessary to gain before you can achieve your objective and key results?

What further learnings are necessary to gain before you can achieve your objective and key results?

Company Name: Strategy:

Date:Version:Strategy Worksheet Based on work done by Rally Software

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT DECNOV

ANNUAL PLANNING

QUARTERLY STEERING

DEPT PLANNING

TEAM PLANNING

TEAM INSPECT & ADAPT

DEPT INSPECT & ADAPT

ALL HANDS MEETING

WEEKLY CORPORATE

COMMUNICATION

Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orProgress



Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orProgress



Lean for Startups

Company OS



Impact Uncertainty

Strategy


focused action

Kanban





Lean Canvas



orcoherenceEnergy

alignment

obstaclesopportunities

unknownsrisks

Integrate learningdaily



Integrate learningquarterly

Progress

Learning

Learning

Learning



FocusExperiments

ImprovementsTactics

The Lean Startup applied a very small subset of Lean to high uncertainty environments. There is so much more from Lean that can be used to accelerate your business.

Accelerate Beyond The Lean Startup

Technology

Transcript of Accelerate Beyond The Lean Startup