do_matic

Countermeasures vs. Solutions

In the August issue of the MIT Sloan Management Review, there is an article by John Shook describing the A3* report - a lynchpin of the famed Toyota approach to improvement. As a structured, fact-driven and ideally visual way of capturing and sharing a situation, the A3 is really attractive. It's more rational than intuitive, but there's room for intuition in the A3 for the enterprising business designer as well. We've got similar tools that we sometimes use at work.

In one of the callouts in the article, I found a really nice observation by the author that made me stop for a second.

In the A3 report, design responses to challenges are typically framed as "countermeasures" rather than "solutions." Whereas "solution" connotes the "end-all, be-all", countermeasures represent a refinement or evolution to combat a challenge. As Shook points out, countermeasures might introduce new challenges to the system. You'd never expect such rude behavior from a solution.

"Countermeasures" is just a much more honest way to frame design responses. Plus, the word appeals to my irrational attachment to The Hunt for Red October.

*As a paper size, I like A3 (tabloid or 11X17) for worksheets and sketching - especially early in a process. You can see the whole problem, especially if your sketching is as "loose" as my ideas usually are. I find my writing and visualizations get smaller and clearer as I work through the divergence and convergence cycle. Too bad. If I was working more sustainably, I'd flip that.

Trial when your lights are off

 

A few weeks ago, I was running by a restaurant that serves vegetarian fare on a somewhat dire stretch of 10th Street in the East Village. They had a table offering free samples. People commuting to work that particular morning could sample what this ten-table place had to offer.

When I first saw the sample sign, I thought "what a nice idea." I'd noticed the restaurant before, but never really been interested in it (probably because I'm usually looking for something a little more indulgent when I'm out in the neighborhood). This move made me reconsider. Here's the conversation I could have imagined playing out among the proprietors:

"Get locals on their way to work to actually try us out. Many of these people often make decisions about what to do for dinner earlier in the day, so why not introduce ourself to them when the streets are a little quieter and they can focus on us?"

It made me think of how to engage potential consumers out of the context of use, but at a time that still represents a reasonable context for consideration.

This isn't a new idea for sure. In a sense, advertising is predicated on it and targeting / placement is meant to get you half-way there. Yet I wonder how else it could be more personally and mindfully pursued? Where else could this be applied?

Business Design: What is it?

(The definition comes from the work. This photo comes from procsilas via Flickr and Creative Commons.)

I've recently found myself talking to audiences, fellow business designers (like Diego and Colin) and clients about what we mean by the phrase Business Design and what we've learned practicing it. Personally, I don't love defining stuff like this. The work should speak for itself.

I think it has.

Over the last four years, I've been really lucky to work alongside dozens of world-class folks at the firm as we've designed our way through hundreds of projects to not only a point of view on what Business Design means, but also a philosophy about what great business design is and how to get there. Looking back at our work and our community of practice, the definition sort of writes itself.

Business Design is an emerging discipline, practiced by people.

Those folks have diverse backgrounds, but they share a depth and passion for business. We're not business experts. We're designers with business expertise.

We’re human-centered, optimistic, entrepreneurial, pragmatic folks that make business possibilities concrete and real.

We’re deep. We geek out about business models, get inspired by business and we have experience and love getting things designed, trialed, done and made.

Business Design is a craft, not a field of knowledge.

At the highest level, we work alongside our collaborators and other design disciplines to do two things:

1. Design business opportunities: creating new options, finding new ways and means for our clients to create value
2. Help designs realize or find their business value: identifying constraints, so we may design around and through them

One big point of confusion that I've spoken and written about before is that I don't mean Design+Business or Business+Design. It's a practical mix of entrepreneurship, commerce and art all a "making" focus.

What are other people saying?

Well, Rotman's trademarked the phrase. I'm not sure if that means I have to start paying them my wages (I love those guys, but I'm not paying them my wages). People are adding on words, such as Social. Sometimes firms and practitioners mean organization design, or maybe analytics inside (tm?). Others seem to mean a systematic approach to identifying innovation opportunities, leveraging the tools of design and through a combination of inductive, deductive and abductive reasoning. That's certainly closer and we end up doing that quite a bit albeit in a way that's human-centered.

I'm excited to keep emerging the discipline, to help others learn the craft and to work with other Business Designers to push the bar on quality to make better, more valuable stuff.

What do you say?

Waste Not: Sustainability as survival and foresight

On Saturday I saw something that was pretty striking. I went to the MOMA to see a variety of things, but I was stopped in my tracks by Song Dong's Project 90 show. The piece of work on display is called Waste Not. Here's a snippet from the MOMA description:

A collaboration first conceived of with the artist's mother, the installation consists of the complete contents of her home, amassed over fifty years during which the Chinese concept of wu jin qi yong, or "waste not," was a prerequisite for survival.

(A view of the show shot from above by sixteen-miles via Flickr. Our iPhone didn't cut it.)

Experiencing the piece, I went on a little journey of revelation. I wondered where and how the artist's mother stored everything. I imagined how she might have imagined using what was kept. I saw how foresight and thriftiness becomes a daily, necessary activity: self-insurance against an uncertain future.

In the end, I realized how little I was doing with what I was consuming and how carefree I felt in my ability to consume more tomorrow. I definitely consume this many bottles in a year, yet I marvel at how this woman kept them or found those that others failed to keep (via sixteen-miles).

 

So back to business design... It made me wonder...

How might we better design products so that they can be there tomorrow for us or for someone else to use them or get value them?

How might we make thriftiness a daily routine? Something to be cherished? Something thrilling?

How might we make one person's trash another person's recyclable? In urban or rural environments?

How might we consume less, yet enjoy more?

Any other ideas?

More on atoms or the bits

The editor of this blog does not necessarily agree with the views and viewpoints of George Parker, but I must admit to a smile or two when I read his rants. Here's one via PSFK on the topic du année.

Kindle books are about 10 to 40 percent cheaper than hard cover counterparts. But paperbacks are often the same price on the Kindle as on the regular site, which gives higher margins for Amazon and the publisher. And if you really want something horrible to look forward to, Amazon has just taken out two patents for “On-demand generated eBook content with advertising.” Meaning that your latest John Grisham yawn will have as many ads in it as the Manhattan Yellow Pages.

Price, value, experience and digital media (or "the atoms or the bits")

I was going to pick up this book. Because VSL told me to. I often do what they tell me to do and they haven't let me down yet.



I was looking forward to the prospect of holding it whilst relaxing in a lawn chair in the backyard this summer (ok, somebody else’s backyard, I live here).

Then I was like... well I wonder if it’s available on the Kindle? Lo and behold, I see down there in the lower left that it sure is. Bonus.

That’s cool, I could get it faster. Immediately even. (Even though my Kindle is at home and turned off, when I next turned it on this book would be there "waiting for me" in all its line item glory sooner than I would ever be ready to read it).

Then I was like... I’d probably want to share this one with my wife Steph or my friend Rene. It would make me look smart and I could nerd out about it with somebody. That couldn’t happen with the Kindle though (and Steph would be like 'get out of here with that nonsense, you nerd'). And this book might have pictures that I want to look at (I don’t think so actually, it seems like a collection of essays.)

Then I was like... what’s the price difference (notice the tardiness of this question)?

$0.21

So the inherent difference in the value of this book is $0.21? Says so right up there. (Apparently a pleasant voice is worth another $8.39, but the robot voice on the Kindle is free.)

Well maybe. Price is what you pay and value is what you get. Amazon sets a price, but we say how valuable it is.

As a Prime customer, I’ve already covered the shipping differences quite nicely for them and order more books than I otherwise would if I was to consider the incremental cost of shipping each time I bought a book (brilliant!). I’ve already bought the Kindle. But... let’s ignore sunk costs for a second (MBA kicks in).

Then I was like... Screw that. I’m offended. I want to buy the paper now because I can share it, hold it and it will get here soon enough for my purposes. That is, sooner than I can read it. If I'm paying to destroy trees, then I want the trees. On the margin, the value of the paper is greater for me (or at least I tell myself). Or at least until and if paper goes away. And paper hasn't yet been wrested from my cold dead hands.

But then again, I can’t stick the book on that “library” of mine for when I travel. Who cares? I’ve got enough book inventory to allow me to shelter in place while revolution and reality shows rage around me. They could give me both. They might someday. They're giving me lots of free books right now with some channel price discrimination. That's both a problem and an opportunity they have: two simultaneous models.

Then it occurred to me... Amazon’s got me. I’m a sucker. I love them, but I’m a sucker. Bezos is an innovation hero, but seemingly my arch nemesis as well. (Okay, okay. I'm my worst enemy.) He's found a price and designed an experience that has me considering paying the same price! I'm trapped, but do I want an alternative?

But at this price, is Amazon really going to change the industry and simultaneously maintain control? Perhaps, but I don't think they are destroying enough value yet!

They need to price this book at 50% the cost of the physical book. But then again, those publishers aren’t that interested in doing that right now either... There’s some breakeven for the production side of the value chain that keeps the creators whole (or even better off), while passing on a savings to me the consumer and winning Amazon share of all these little profit bombs.

If you didn’t have to cover the costs of other aspects of your business (publishing print for example, or shipping toasters), what would you charge? What’s the right price to put food on the table of the authors, editors and the rest of that value chain? What could I cut out? How should I deliver the experience for both consumers and creators?

The pricing out there in this world is really, really dynamic. I'm really in need of knowing more of the details of the margin models though. Anybody know?

So, what did I do? Nothing. Can't decide. Frozen.

Business Design: The curriculum of 2012

[Editor's note: Hi! Lot's of folks end up on this blog because of this post. If you like the post (or even if you don't), take a look around. If you like what you see (or maybe if you don't), consider commenting, sharing, coming back or even subscribing. Okay, this is what I wrote that got people talking...]

In the near future, I believe that you'll be able to get an advanced degree in Business Design. 

Some programs like the d.school (a formative experience for me) and Rotman are playing with this idea, but I don't think these programs really nail it yet.

The educational experience would be applied and pragmatic. Classes would be harder than fluid dynamics (ok maybe not, but close). As a student you would feel as inspired and challenged as you would in the most advanced studio art class. Theory alone wouldn't cut it. If you didn't do something practical by the end of the term in each class, you would fail. We would get things done.

I think I would have achieved a 2.6 average or so coming out of it, but I'd have learned a hell of a lot. Here's an initial list of classes: BDES_Curriculum (full list after the jump)

What would you add? What would the admission requirements and pre-requisites be?

BDES 101 | Creating Options (Do Nothing)
3 credits
In this core class, we’ll tackle one of the key skills of the business designer: generating, framing and valuing strategic options. We’ll learn idea generation techniques, portfolio comparison strategies, game theory and dig deep into weighing options.
Practicum: Act as a Business Unit president in a dynamic simulation. Create and decide amongst many options as the context and competition changes all around you.