Behind these business terms are human beings
Behind all these business metrics and frameworks are human beings, which are infinitely complex. It takes a lot of hubris to think our solutions will solve human problems without being deeply inundated with these humans we are solution-ing for.
A lot of us agree with this for the most part. It’s just a matter of how far we are willing to go towards being “deeply inundated.” If we are honest with ourselves, we usually take the shortcut. Then, justify this shortcut with more business terms.
A lot of times this shortcut seems practical — running a quick survey, utilizing heuristics to solve a problem, or asking the “expert” (links show the unreliability). These seem practical because of business constraints but they are also what is costing us from continuously delivering long-term value.
What’s the alternative? It’s spending the time to become deeply inundated with the infinitely complex humans we are solution-ing for.
Steve Blank has famously uttered, “Get out of the building.” He is advocating that we should get out of the conference room and expose ourselves to these humans within the context of our business.
This is where we’ll find new inspiration for creativity. This is where we’ll develop the deep knowledge that make our future heuristics and expertise reliable. This is how we continuously solve problems for human beings.
And, if you’ve solved a problem then you’ve changed human behavior. And, this is a tall order.
For example, doctors are only able to get 1-in-7 seriously-at-risk patients (according to “Immunity to Change”) to change after they’re told that the patient will literally die if they do not make the changes.
If you want to change human behavior for the better, then change your approach to solving problems.
Spend more time with humans.
