Operand Resources
If you’re still competing on operand resources alone – those that need to be acted upon for progress to happen – you will be tomorrow’s commodity players. Though for some Helpers that is a useful position. Editing below here What we’re thinking Operand resources, compared to operant ones, are passive – they must be acted upon for progress to happen. Think of them as the raw materials: tools, goods, content, environments. For decades, they’ve been the core of competitive advantage. Strategy focused on one question: Is your product better than the competition’s? Whether it’s a car, drink, app, or detergent – winning…
Operant Resources
Understanding and designing your business around operant resources – those that act on other resources to make progress – should be the norm for unlocking progress, innovation, and sustainable growth. Though make sure your target Seeker(s) are not looking for more enabling-like propositions and/or the inequitable exchange hurdle is not too high. Writing / editing below here What we’re thinking Not all resources are created equal. Those that act on other resources to make progress – such as the Seeker or Helper’s employees and AI systems (LLMs, agents AI etc) – are known as operant resources and are the source of strategic…
Goods – a resource mix element
Editing below here Goods are examples of operand resources. Remember that in order to make progress with these types of resources, they must be acted upon. They are usually physical, tangible objects. Although we can have digital goods such as digital films, music, and e-books, etc. The distinguishing feature of goods in the progress economy is that ownership of them is permanently transferred from the progress helper to the progress seeker. And it is important to appreciate that goods are simply another component of the progress resource mix. We don’t see any goods vs services debate (as we do in traditional thinking).…
Resources – carriers of capabilities
Stop asking “What product should we build?” and start asking “What capabilities do our customers lack that is limiting their progress?”, and then package those in resources that deliver them best in the context of the Seeker’s progress. What we’re thinking Progress is made when we successfully integrate resources that carry the necessary capabilities. It stalls when we mis-integrate, have the wrong type of resource to Seeker’s expectations, or lack resources carrying the needed capabilities (that is, we lack the needed capabilities). But what are resources? The literature, and our daily linguistic short-cuts, introduce confusion! So let’s be precise: resources:…
