by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“…the economic profession is fond of broad conclusions…there may be value in thinking small; doing more ‘forensic economics,’” concluded Dr. Jeremy Kahn, Critical Care Physician and Professor of Health Policy at Pittsburgh University – NY Times Business, August, 2018.

Should we also be thinking in like terms about pursuing forensic societal and economic value within our own organizations? We automatically conclude that because our enterprise is in business it provides phenomenal value. Maybe it does, but possibly it falls short in a number of ways?

We are all aware of how Google and Facebook took-off in their early days. At that time, they offered phenomenal value because people had never been able to interconnect, communicate or access information so speedily and cheaply before: just by plugging into the Internet.  However, now that they’ve grown into enormous entities and we’ve learnt more about their capabilities, society is raising increasing numbers of questions about their value proposition. We have come to realize some significant drawbacks at their overall impact on society. One big one: the Internet reduces our time for thinking to virtually zero.

Of course, everything has some sort of downsides, if you look deep enough; and that’s what Dr. Kahn was alluding to in the NY Times article: “Controlling the Cost of Health Care 1% at a Time.” It pointed out our major concerns at the cost and inadequacy of our health care. According to reporter Margot Sanger-Katz, after her time talking with a range of experts, there may not be one major fix for our health care system: “We may need to do more health care plumbing rather than health care big theories,” she quoted one health economist at MIT as commenting. “…you may have to roll up your sleeves and find those pockets of waste.” On the basis that, if you find enough pockets, they may all aggregate into significant value over time…$billions in fact, as well as far better health care.

In like terms with your organization’s Value Proposition: we should dig deeper rather than assume everyone “gets it” in the same way we insiders do. More often than not, we realize the need to bring our organization’s key value into stark reality before some people ‘twig-on.’ Otherwise, they may only view that value in pure monetary terms, whereas there may be tremendous intrinsic value to be appreciated, as well. Again, we have to be mindful of Einstein’s view; “There’s no expedient that man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking”…and that’s true for customers, users and providers, too.

Our reality is that we should be doing the thinking for our customers and prospects, before we expect them to fully appreciate our organization’s value. This accepts that they’re often too busy with their own career and personal lives to be figuring out the full range of value in our products or services. The same is true in health care; where someone should be doing the “plumbing” to determine the full value and waste within such a critical economic and societal venue.

Thinking in human terms: there are four key questions that you ought to be asking to fully understand your organization’s value proposition:

» What crucial factors do we eliminate for the benefit of our people, customers and prospects?

» What crucial new value do we create for the benefit of our people, customers and prospects?

» What existing factors do we decrease to favor our people, customers and prospects?

» What existing value do we increase to favor our people, customers and prospects?

Without wishing to sound like a marketing voice for Leadership Solutions (LSI), other than provide concrete examples on a known product-service, LSI’s value proposition includes:

» Eliminates – Short-sighted management efficiency approaches …plus others

» Creates – Fresh leadership paradigms and approaches which enable organizations be far more effective…plus others

» Decreases – An organization’s dependence on managerial, command and control thinking…plus others

» Increases – An organization’s utilization of leadership and people engagement thinking…plus others

Even for this writer, there was great value in taking more than a few moments to think through these value propositions for Leadership Solutions. In fact, you should think of pursuing such an exercise within your organization more than once a year – just as we regularly dig into fiscal budgeting – as a discipline to sharpen the value we provide for our customers, users or beneficiaries (non-profits). The greater we hone these factors; the better will be our focus and the more perceived value our enterprise will demonstrate within our chosen marketplace. That usually means one thing: the intrinsic demand for our products or services grows. Consequently our organization expands to deliver what it offers best.

So, when do you propose to set aside time to figure out or sharpen your organization’s value-proposition?  It could be the most valuable time you’ve devoted in a long, long time. At the same time, don’t expect it to be a few minute exercise … and don’t forget Einstein’s wise words on thinking!  Done properly, it may take several sessions before you arrive at something quite powerful.

To find out more about evolving a Value Proposition, talk with: