Theory of Constraints – and product management – Part 2

B2B, constraints, ideal customer, Marketing, Product Management

In yesterday’s post I spoke why I like the Theory of Constraints and how it can help in identifying the possible reasons, why the product or service is not taking off in the market as desired.

The key advantage is gained when you speak the logical steps and while speaking you realise that there’s a gap in the logic. As a example if you have a product or service in the B2B space. In B2B the process generally involves giving presentations, giving proposals, then negotiations etc.

Now lets take an example. If I need to have 18 proposals in the “market” in by 31st March, because only when you have proposals, can you get orders. While mathematically it is a simple equation that for 30 proposals you need to connect to 900 contacts ( I have used a multiplier of 50, which could vary from industry to industry) and then go through the process. Most people follow this method and then try to do carpet bombing with very little success.

On the other hand if we were to follow the logical process that is defined by the Theory of Constraints then the logic could look like this

If I have a clearly defined Ideal Customer profile

AND

If I have a set of 250 unique accounts confirming to my ICP to whom I can send an email

AND

If I have correct email ids of the relevant person in these 250 companies

AND

If I can send 50 emails to these companies everyday

AND

If 10 people respond back

AND

If I can show my presentation to 2 people every day or 10 people in a week

AND

If 3 people out of the 10 in a week like my solution to their problem

AND

If out of the 12 people in a month, 3 ask me for our proposal

THEN

In 6 months I will have 18 proposals in the market

Now if you will speak through the above sequence of logical statements, you will realise the flawed & undefined assumptions, in the argument. One item which is not included is the fact that the customer should have a budget, the statements don’t include the amount of followups that will be needed, what is the assumption behind 10 people responding back, etc. So just connecting to 900 contacts will not help you hit your target

Once you get that data then you can actually analyse whether your target is doable and what is the first thing that you need to hit at to open the “lock” in your constraint. You can also look at it in a different fashion to see for a given target, what all you will need to put in place to achieve it

Try this method and let me know your feedback.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Theory of Constraints – and product management

Assumptions, constraints, Marketing, Product Management

Eli Goldiratt in the 1960s formulated this the Theory of Constraints and over the next 30-40 years he went about figuring out the solutions in various manufacturing companies. They had a lot of consultants world wide, some of whom directly still utilise the framework given by this theory or have modified it with changing times.

Goldiratt during his lifetime had written a few books out of which Goal and Goal II are so well written, with the story so tightly woven, that you don’t realise that you are reading a book which is about serious business.

Like with any theory there are proponents and then there are some who don’t realise the value and identify flaws – like in the real world there could be more than one constraint acting in parallel. These could be true.

However , I have found the theory very logical, in that it goes step by step in a well defined manner. If you go through the If… AND If…. AND If ….. Then. If you have done logic circuits using gates(AND, OR etc. ) then it is even more easy to understand.

Aa lot of times we are faced with the dilemma, that we have introduced a product, after identifying a niche in the market, with breakthrough technology, which has a novelty factor also, but the market is not accepting it. So you start figuring out the reasons.

One way to do the analysis and figure out the course correction is using the theory of constraints, by using the If …AND , If …. Then construct. As you start speaking the logic of the conditions you automatically start realising the flaws in your assumptions and start figuring out the possible challenges because of which there’s no pull in the market. I have found it’s a good way to surface the assumptions that you have taken during the launch of the product. Sometimes it actually makes you go down to where you started the buyer’s journey for your product. It can get you down to first principle thinking because it is so logical.

So while you do a lot of careful planning while launching, you should also be ready to work on a course correction if things are not going as per plan. Its your product, so a product management person you have to do whatever it takes to make it successful.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Reframing the assets that we have

Abundance, assets, constraints, creativity, Leverage, possibility thinking, problem solving, Uncategorized

Inspite of the fact that I write about marketing, product management, finance etc. The fact is that I am also learning every day. While I have some theories like “Riding the Elephant ” , I am actually a Work in Process.

So when I come across something which I have used earlier and I read a book in which a similar idea is written, then it becomes a validation of my ideas.

In marketing you will constantly come across constraints. Actually in life itself, you will constantly come across constraints. But in case of marketing, I have noticed that Murphy’s law decides to become applicable at the most inappropriate times.

At those times you have to be as resourceful as possible. One of the ways of becoming resourceful is to first identify all the assets at your disposal.

Next see how the same asset can be utilized in a different way.

Third “who” could benefit from the reframed asset and last

How could you benefit from the assets that person or organization has and then go about showcasing them, about how it could be of mutual benefit to both the concerned parties.

One thing which I have used very effectively is the spare technical manpower in our company. I have actually gone and spoken to partners to check if they’re facing technical problems in going to the market.

We have been able to work with partners because of just this one asset that we have and they can’t afford. Due to that they take us to the market, we help them sell and give us all the services.

Sometimes it could be the internal setup or processes or messaging that you have built, which could be repurchased for the other side, in return for something that they have.

In marketing you always need to keep looking with an abundant mindset of how you could reframe the assets you have to get what you want.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Fixed mindset – can’t welcome constraints

constraints, ego, Fear, possibility thinking, problem solving

Yesterday I had written about how I have changed over the years, growing old has also got me to become more open to different thinking patterns, to stop fearing problems and constraints and to rather welcome them.

Sometimes I do get blocked by my own fixed mindset or by others in the team who are not willing to take a different route to solve a challenge. This happens because the existing method had helped solve similar challenges till now. So we try harder to use the same method with the same failure. But because the path has got so strongly ingrained in our mind, we don’t like to change.

At one point in time, calling out or sending physical letters was the best method to get connected to B2B prospects, then came email, then social media. Today with a plethora of methods available you sometimes have to use all of them.But if we were to only stick to calling – and I am guilty of this – then our connections will fall.

So while using various tools like the ones which are shown in ” A Beautiful Constraint” help open the mind to look at possibilities, if you are not willing to work on the results that the tools throw up, you will still be where you started from.

I think our ability to have a growth mindset, possibility thinking and an outward looking nature are all intertwined, as are, a fixed mindset, inward looking and pondering over problems for too long. The later could be because of a fragile ego or a fear that someone else thought of a solution rather than us.

We live in interesting times right now, there are lots of challenges and therefore a lot of opportunities. Its all about what you want to spend you time with.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!