The last time I attended a conference in person it was SEACON 2019 in London. Barry Chandler and the team per usual put on an amazing program and I was delighted to share live updates while the event was unfolding. During one of those sessions, Gabrielle Benefield from MobiusLoop talked about outcomes versus outputs and where we need to focus to deliver value. As part of that talk she shared a story about a TV remote control as an example of outputs not always creating value.

But it just doesn’t work

Here is how I share the story when I talk to teams about value so that they will pause and reflect on what they are doing. (And those who know me, know that I love a good story) A grandson went to visit his grandma and asked if she wanted to watch some television with him. She said it was time for one of her favorite programs. Her grandson asked her to hand him the remote and she said “that stupid thing doesn’t work.” He said “well gran give it to me anyway and let me see if I can fix it.” She said “just get up and turn on the TV. It is faster.”

He did as she asked but then checked the remote control thinking maybe the batteries needed to be replaced. The control worked. So what was wrong? Was it just the case of an old woman not knowing how to use technology? So he explains to her that the remote control was working fine. Showed her that he could turn the television on and off and change the volume with no problems and left it.

And it still isn’t working

A few weeks later, he returned to visit his grandmother again and again they decided to watch her programs. And yet again she proclaimed adamantly that the remote control was useless. He checked it again. It was fine. But now he was really perplexed. Why was this so hard? Why was she taking the long way around and getting up every time she wanted to adjust the television set?

So he told her to try it while he was there so he could figure it out. After all, what was the purpose of having it if you weren’t going to use it to make life more convenient as a senior. She reluctantly took it from him and said “see when I push the buttons nothing happens. It has never worked properly.”

The moral to the story

And what he witnessed was the moral of the story. She was confused by the buttons. Was the label over or under the button? Did she need to push it a certain way or in a certain sequence? All she wanted to do was change the channel. And her confusion was written all over her face along with her frustration. So he went to the closet and got out a roll of duct tape. You can solve almost any problem with duct tape right?

And he taped over the entire remote control except for the power, mute, channel (up/down) and volume (up/down). He determined which parts of the device provided value to his gran and he created a product for her that provided that value by removing the features that did not. And in the end let’s examine the remote control that I have in my office.

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About the Author:

INDRA A. BOOKS

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