Competing Against Luck - Post 3/6 (Based on Chapters 4-5)
Change is Hard!
"When the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change, you will change."
— Unknown
"People don’t change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing."
— Attributed to Tony Robbins in his speeches and seminars
"Change happens when the cost of maintaining the status quo becomes greater than the cost of transition."
— Andy Stanley (The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, 2008)
You’re not the only one who finds change difficult. Put simply, it requires the right motivation.
"Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up."
— James Belasco and Ralph Stayer (Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead, 1994)
Deciding to make a change is hard, even when we want to. So, how do we convince a customer to "fire" their current solution and "hire" ours? It isn't luck. This week, we're looking at the forces that impact a customer's decision to make a change. Hiring a new product or service is making that change.
What Are the Forces of Progress?
Chapter 4 introduces four forces that shape why a customer hires a product for a job, such as "streamline form data collection." These forces are always at play when a customer considers a new solution:
- Push: The frustrations and problems with their current situation or solution (e.g., clunky, manual processes).
- Pull: The appeal of a better, new solution that promises progress (e.g., faster, intuitive workflows).
- Anxiety: The worries and fears about switching to a new solution (e.g., a steep learning curve, data migration errors).
- Habit: The inertia or resistance to change due to familiarity with their current, even if imperfect, solution.
Understanding these forces is critical. Chasing feature parity—copying a competitor's features—often ignores these forces, adding complexity that increases anxiety or reinforces old habits. As we discussed with the Pareto Principle, the core 20% of features that address the push and pull forces deliver 80% of the adoption value.
A Real-World Example
Let's apply these forces to an automation workflow managing forms that is supposed to "streamline form data collection." Imagine a user who is frustrated with their current, slow system.
- Push: They're fed up with slow, manual form tools that cause delays and errors.
- Pull: They are attracted to the promise of Vasion's intuitive, automated workflows that can save time.
- Anxiety: They worry about the time it will take to set up new forms and the risk of losing important data during the transition.
- Habit: They've been using their current system for years, and the team is used to it, making them resistant to change.
To get hired for this job, our product must address the push and pull while reducing the anxiety and habit barriers. This guides us to prioritize a seamless onboarding experience and simple, user-friendly features over a long list of complex, unused ones. It isn't about having the most features; it's about making the choice to switch an easy one.
Try This Out
Mapping these forces is a powerful exercise for any team. Here’s a way to start:
- Action Item: Pick a product feature or a known customer pain point. Identify the context of the situation.
- Ask: What are the push and pull forces at play? What are the biggest sources of anxiety or habit that might prevent a customer from switching?
- Brainstorm: Think of one way to amplify a pull force or reduce an anxiety barrier. For example, a simplified form setup can directly ease a user’s anxiety.
This helps product managers create compelling features and engineers reduce adoption hurdles, focusing on the vital 20% that delivers 80% of the value.
What's Next?
We've explored how customers hire products for jobs (Post 1), how context reveals those jobs (Post 2), and now, why they choose solutions (Post 3). Next week, we'll dive into how to map customer jobs into steps to find opportunities for innovation.
Bringing it Home
The "Forces of Progress" are also at work in your personal life. Think about a time you've wanted to make a big change, like starting a new routine or ending an old habit.
- What was the push? (e.g., The frustration of not having enough time in the morning).
- What was the pull? (e.g., The appeal of feeling more energized and prepared for the day).
- What was the anxiety? (e.g., Worrying that you'll fail or that the new routine will be too difficult to stick with).
- What was the habit? (e.g., The comfort of sleeping in a little longer).
By identifying these forces, you can better understand your own motivations and create a plan to make progress, not just change. The more we understand these jobs, the more effective we’ll be in our work, our relationships and our personal lives, helping to make our own, and others', lives better, as we keep Aiming Up!
