The problem with coming up with solutions
Janet from… no one even knows where — shuffles her papers importantly and addresses the CEO, “The system on which we run the company is clunky and saddled with inefficiencies and this is why sales is at an all time low. This is not great for the staff’s morale. I heard that other companies are using BrilliantMobileApp. It won’t take much effort on our part, we pay them and they’ll set us up, ready to sell to anyone, anywhere, anytime! I have quotes here, and I think it’s worth a shot.”
Daniel, the CEO nods empathically, “Yes, five years ago, we were doing so well, but it seems we’ve lost our way. Let’s do it.” The two of them exchange congratulatory remarks for quickly finding a solution and wasted no time getting it approved by the board of directors. Before the week ended, Daniel’s company signed a 10 year contract worth half a million dollars with BrilliantMobileApp.
The following week, the CTO is surprised that his team is being asked to integrate this foreign app into the current platform. It is frustrating, to say the least, because the “clunky, inefficient system” has just undergone a major rethink and it is much better now than it was months ago. The team barely even had time to launch it and definitely aren’t given enough time to prove that it delivers desired outcome. BrilliantMobileApp means they’ll have to put aside the measuring, learning, and iterative improvements they have planned, in favor of this newfangled scheme that the big boss has decided to try out.
Can you identify the things that are problematic in the scenario?
What is wrong here and is there a better way?
1. Unvalidated proclamations taken as gospel truth
Janet’s hypothesis that the system is at fault for a dip in Sales’ performance is taken as fact without validation. It is easy to blame the tech, but there must be other factors attributing to the falling Sales numbers. Do the Sales staff have the right skills? Are we talking to the right audience? Is our current arsenal of tools insufficient?
Are there quick, cheap ways to prove these hypotheses right or wrong first, before jumping the gun and sinking a couple hundred grand on a “silver bullet” solution? (Spoiler alert: there is no silver bullet solution/product, ever).
2. HiPPO makes product decisions
When the Highest-paid person’s opinion (HiPPO) is always accepted with zero challenges, your company isn’t making the most out of the many brilliant minds it has hired. In the above, Daniel didn’t even consult with his CTO or CPO before signing a contract for an expensive app. (Besides, should he really be concerning himself with low-level operational issues? Doesn’t he have bigger fish to fry?).
Could the product team have come up with an app that has similar functionality? YES, for way more cheaper.
Would they have done it in a heartbeat? NO.
A good product team would have analysed why there is a need for those extra functionalities first. They would have questioned if that is really what the Sales team needs, or if there is a better use of their resources.
Just because other companies are using the app doesn’t mean it’ll work for us. Plus, it is entirely a wild assumption that it is in fact working or delivering desired outcome for the competitors.
3. Movement for movement’s sake
The product team has barely even fully rolled out the improved system and now they’re being asked to integrate this new app. There isn’t time to check that their changes did solve the initial problems that warranted the need for the change in the first place, let alone come up with learnings about what they can do to further improve it.
The company seems plagued by the idea that if there isn’t a product being launched, then the product team is not doing what they’re paid for. This thinking leads the upper management to think that they must take matters into their own hands, come up with little projects to keep the team busy and get some progress.
But progress towards what?
Is the above familiar occurrences in your organisation? How do you handle it?
