Bringing it Back:A discussion on how to successfully bring new skills and big ideas into your current organization or your next job

keith@keithhopper.com@khopper

Discussion

• Your Name• Where you’re at (or where you’d like to be

headed)• What you’d like to get out of this discussion

The Need for Modern Product Thinking is Enormous

• Wasted time and effort• Current practices are largely outdated• Teams are inefficient• Best employees will leave• Competitive advantage• High product failure rate• Digital disruption

Modern Product Thinking

AGILE(fixed-time iterations)

LEAN(experimentation)

DESIGN THINKING(user-centric)

The Problem

• Stakeholders and customers want features, not processes

• Peers and managers can be threatened by new ideas

• NIH• Organizations often resist or question change• Buy-in from the top is not easy or even possible• You don’t necessarily have the authority

Discussion

• Where have you struggled in the past (or expect to struggle in the future) around bringing in new methods or big ideas?

• What has worked?

Getting Stuff Done Through Others

Manage Change: Motivate and direct people towards changeManage Relationships: Win friends and influence people

Which of these is a better strategy? When / why?

The Rider & the Elephant

Riders, Elephants & Paths

Elephants & Riders Have Issues

• Riders get overwhelmed with options• Riders focus on problems, doubt • Riders get stuck in planning and analysis• Elephants do what is familiar, safe• Elephants don’t listen to reason for long• Elephants are motivated by fear

Direct the Rider

• Focus on one, small behavior change• Create a single, achievable, near-term goal • Fight analysis by doing• Script the critical moves with specific and clear

instructions on how to proceed• Help visualize a near-term destination

Have you used any of these techniques? Do you see them working at your company? Why or why not?

Motivate the Elephant

• Address emotions, not logic– Social pressure, FOMO, pride, fear, safety, hope

• Shrink the change, but make it meaningful• Create wins and immediate gratification• Expect and permit failure “en route”• Grow people: build reassurance and confidence

Have you used any of these techniques? Do you see them working at your company? Why or why not?

Shape the Path (Make the Journey Easier)

• Avoid breaking existing habits• Build new habits• Give the team real skills and practice• Find the bright spots and highlight – behavior is

contagious

Have you used any of these techniques? Do you see them working at your company? Why or why not?

How to Change Product Thinking

• Focus on one small, near-term goal• Deploy a small team for a short timeframe• Deploy a proven, highly structured process• Avoid analysis paralysis through execution• Equip people with modern product skills• Create and celebrate small wins• Understand what’s working and highlight

MANAGE RELATIONSHIPS

Be Genuinely Interested

• What do others care about?• Understand what matters to people and what

makes them tick• Practice empathy; listening• Give them what they want

Don’t Force Your Ideas

• Avoid arguments over what you want– “The only way to get the best of an argument is to

avoid it”• Ask others for advice• Let them have the idea• Understand the outcomes you both want and

bring them half way with questions

Be Enthusiastic

• Find co-conspirators; set up 1-on-1 time• Find bright spots; get behind others driving

change and highlight their success• Timing is key• Dramatize your ideas; make problems tangible