Hi there -
Here is this week’s “1 principle, 2 strategies, and 3 actionable tactics” for running lean…
1 Universal Principle
“Position your product as emotionally better.”
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How do you build a better product? By recognizing that “better” is relative.
This simple insight is the premise behind my Innovator’s Gift mental model:
Innovation is fundamentally about causing a switch from an old way (the status quo) to your new way.
This begs the next question: How much better does your new way need to be to cause a switch?
The answer: 3-10x better.
Why? If your new way is only incrementally better, the old way will always win since it’s already engrained in habit (INERTIA). To make matters harder, you must also contend with overcoming the anxiety/uncertainty of your new way (FRICTION).
Your promise of better (unique value proposition) needs to be significantly better to overcome these resistive forces.
But creating something 3-10x better is quite a tall order. How do you create something 3-10x better?
The good news is that you don’t have to rely solely on being functionally better. Some of the most successful products bridge this value gap by positioning their product also as emotionally better.
You should, too.
2 Underlying Strategies at Play
I. We are of two minds - System 1 and System 2.
Psychologists have long identified two modes of thinking: System 1 and System 2.
- System 1 operates automatically and quickly with little or no effort or voluntary control.
- System 2 kicks in for tasks that require more attention and effort.
Daniel Kahneman explores this dual system in his groundbreaking book Thinking Fast and Slow. In it, he characterizes System 1 as fast, instinctive, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, more deliberate, and logical.
Emotionally better triggers System 1 thinking.
II. Emotionally better plays on the irrationality of desire.
Here’s a simple example: Is coffee from a specialty coffee shop three times better than coffee from a large coffee chain? Can the coffee drinker tell them apart in a blind taste test? Then why do they justify paying three times as much?
Replace coffee with bottled water, Nike, Apple, and Patagonia. All these products tell stories that evoke strong emotions.
3 Actionable Tactics
I. Chase the bigger context.
Every product lives in two contexts: the solution context and the bigger context.
Your product’s features and benefits live in the solution context, while your customer’s desired outcomes and jobs live in the bigger context.
To uncover “emotionally better,” tap into your product’s bigger context.
II. Focus on wants versus needs.
People don’t want a quarter-inch hole, but something else that comes after the quarter-inch hole. That is where desired outcomes live.
“Functionally better” is where needs live. “Emotionally better” is where wants live.
Too many founders stay stuck in the solution context. which is a recipe for missing the forest for the trees.
Chasing desired outcomes is how you find the right bigger context.
III. Build better customers.
I ran into this quote by Kathy Sierra that changed by perspective on how I build products:
Don’t build a better (x).
Build a better user of (x).
Before encountering this quote, I viewed my mission as building better software tools for founders. I’ve since simplified it to: building better founders. This mindset shift allowed me to explore books, speaking, workshops, coaching, etc., as distinct solutions that align with the bigger context.
Don’t build a better (business model canvas).
Build a better (founder).
Focusing on making your customers better versus improving your solution is a way of breaking through the product context.
You move beyond your product’s immediate features and benefits and instead focus on your customers' desired outcomes or jobs to be done.
That's all for today. See you next week.
Ash
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P.S. Emotionally better > Functionally better.