Value: Jobs-to-be-done and the Lawnmower

My hypothesis about great products is that they have 3 characteristics: Nail Job-To-Be-Done: They are a great solution to a problem users care about; Delight to use: They are well designed; and Sticky: Makes the customer/user want to come back The jobs-to-be-done idea is that customers don’t buy specific products or services. Instead, they hire…

Value: Before storytelling

Perhaps one of the most primary objectives of entrepreneurship and marketing is to get people talking about your business. Sure, you actually want them to buy from you, more than just talk about it. When there is buzz, when people think what you are doing matters, there will be sales. To me there is no…

Value: A value creation checklist

This project you are working on, the new business or offering, what sort of value does it create? Who is it for? What mindset and worldview and situation? Is it paid for by companies or individuals? Does it solve a new problem or is it another/better solution to an old problem? Will a few users…

Value: Starts with the customer

There has never been a more exciting and unpredictable time to be in business. The 4th Industrial Revolution has democratized opportunities by making it easier to find and connect with people anywhere in the world. What I have come to realise through my work with organisations and entrepreneurs, is that this is the best time…

Value: High value

Once you know who your customers are and what they want, the next question is what value are you adding to them? High value is not the same as low price. The price is obvious. It can be seen from a distance. But value is more subtle. It often needs to be experienced to be understood.…

It’s The People

It’s the people. The people on your team. The people you are with on the road. The people you are succeeding and failing beside every day. If you are going to do something of significance you are not going to achieve it alone. You have to have people around you. You have to love the…

Twenty-one and broke

When you are twenty-one and broke, the dream is alive and well. In fact, I would argue twenty-one and broke is just about perfect. The fire in your gut is burning hard. Wide eyes, huge goals and nothing gets in your way. The difference between twenty-one and fourty-one, is that if you are fourty-one and…

Customers: and Consumers

We know that customers and consumers are not necessarily the same person. The consumer is the one who consumes, who uses. The customers is the one who pays. Often used interchangeably, they are not the same. The consumer and the customer can be the same person, when you have breakfast at a restaurant, you are…

Customers: Two ways to get married

There are two ways to get married: The first way to get married is to go on tinder and swipe right, over and over again proposing marriage to very single person you swipe. This is a stupid way to get married. The other way to get married is to go on a date, if it…

Customers: Who are they?

A friend of mine who is a car salesperson once told me that one of the things an experienced salesperson will know her customers is by the questions they ask. When a person enters an expensive car dealership and the first question they ask is the price, often they will not buy, people who buy…

Customers: Find products for your customers

The mistake entrepreneurs make is to say: "I have a product/service, my job is to find customers for my product/service." "I manufacture hair products, my job is to look for customers for my products." "I fix cars, my job is to look for people I can fix cars for." "I'm accountant, my job is to…