Can you better enable Seekers to make the progress they can today in a better way?
What we’re thinking
One of the four innovation outcomes is a proposition that offers to help reach today’s progress in an improved way.
This is actually a conceit. A useful cognitive shortcut relating to increasing non-functional potential progress, or aligning closer to contextual progress of a Seeker’s progress journey.
making Today’s progress, better
An outcome of innovation is a progress proposition that enables a Seeker to make their current possible progress in a better way
The dual of enabling better progress than possible today is to enable today’s progress in a better way.
Now, “better” is a subjective term. What we are really talking about here is a cognitive shortcut to the previous outcome. Making today’s progress better usually means improving non-functional progress, or aligning closer to contextual progress of a progress journey. It is a useful conceit to look at as its own innovattion outcome.
Uber is a larger-scale example. They didn’t change the functional progress offered – “arrive at a new location” – but they dramatically improved non-functional progress.
By shifting the resource mix from call-center employees (or just one person answering a phone) to a mobile app, they made the progress journey faster, more transparent, and more reliable. Features such as real-time vehicle tracking and two-way ratings drove behavioural change on both sides of the platform, leading to better overall experiences.
These shifts were all progress sought by Seekers yet unmet by incumbent Helpers. A powerful reminder that we need to consider non-functional and contextual progress dimensions equally with the functional.
B2B examples are equally powerful here. Snowflake, for instance, didn’t just store data (a functional progress offered the same as a traditional data warehouse). They simplified setup and scaled infrastructure automatically – making today’s progress easier.
| progress lever | discussion |
|---|---|
| improve non-functional progress towards that sought | Make things quicker, faster, simpler etc. However, beware that some Seekers are looking for a challenge, or to learn skills and competences. |
| improve contextual progress towards that sought | I mentioned already some gyms hold Peloton classes, shifting the contextual progress sought from “at home/own equipment” to “physically with others/don’t own equipment”. The functional progress sought dimension does not change. |
A consequential progress lever is that of disruptive innovation
| progress lever | discussion |
|---|---|
| disruptive innovation | Using new technology to address the progress sought of less demanding Seekers that have been left behind by other Helpers (and then improve the progress offered to increasingly target mainstream progress sought) |
Along with innovating around the progress journey, our third innovation outcome addresses the six hurdles to making progress.
Let’s progress together through discussion…