{"id":1914,"date":"2018-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/?p=1914"},"modified":"2024-04-21T13:12:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T12:12:01","slug":"the-real-reason-we-sucked-8052b26588c2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/?p=1914","title":{"rendered":"The real reason we\u00a0sucked"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n      * {\n        font-family: Georgia, Cambria, \"Times New Roman\", Times, serif;\n      }\n      html, body {\n        margin: 0;\n        padding: 0;\n      }\n      h1 {\n        font-size: 50px;\n        margin-bottom: 17px;\n        color: #333;\n      }\n      h2 {\n        font-size: 24px;\n        line-height: 1.6;\n        margin: 30px 0 0 0;\n        margin-bottom: 18px;\n        margin-top: 33px;\n        color: #333;\n      }\n      h3 {\n        font-size: 30px;\n        margin: 10px 0 20px 0;\n        color: #333;\n      }\n      header {\n        width: 640px;\n        margin: auto;\n      }\n      section {\n        width: 640px;\n        margin: auto;\n      }\n      section p {\n        margin-bottom: 27px;\n        font-size: 20px;\n        line-height: 1.6;\n        color: #333;\n      }\n      section img {\n        max-width: 640px;\n      }\n      footer {\n        padding: 0 20px;\n        margin: 50px 0;\n        text-align: center;\n        font-size: 12px;\n      }\n      .aspectRatioPlaceholder {\n        max-width: auto !important;\n        max-height: auto !important;\n      }\n      .aspectRatioPlaceholder-fill {\n        padding-bottom: 0 !important;\n      }\n      header,\n      section[data-field=subtitle],\n      section[data-field=description] {\n        display: none;\n      }\n      <\/style>\n<article class=\"h-entry\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"p-name\">The real reason we sucked<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"p-summary\" data-field=\"subtitle\">\u201cWe lost on price Werner\u201d, I\u2019ve have heard this so many times before. Exhausted, grinding my teeth I catch myself responding in a moment of\u2026<\/section>\n<section class=\"e-content\" data-field=\"body\">\n<section class=\"section section--body section--first\">\n<div class=\"section-divider\">\n<hr class=\"section-divider\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"section-content\">\n<div class=\"section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn\">\n<h3 id=\"2640\" class=\"graf graf--h3 graf--leading graf--title\">The real reason we\u00a0sucked<\/h3>\n<p id=\"8770\" class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--h3\">\u201cWe lost on price Werner\u201d, I\u2019ve have heard this so many times before. Exhausted, grinding my teeth I catch myself responding in a moment of weakness, \u201cThey [the client] will be back, we\u2019ll have to go in and fix their [the competitor] screwups soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"b5a3\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Failing forward<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"aa68\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">Losing sucks. We all fail;<\/p>\n<p id=\"bd98\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">There are many strategies for winning, but when it comes to losing it boils down to, \u2018suck it up\u2019, \u2018learn from it\u2019, \u2018could have, should have\u2019 and \u2018move forward\u2019. What\u2019s the actual strategy for losing?<\/p>\n<p id=\"3bb7\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Start Empathy<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"7f41\" class=\"graf graf--blockquote graf--startsWithSingleQuote graf-after--p\"><p>\u2018He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.\u2019\u200a\u2014\u200aSun Tzu.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"28d9\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--blockquote\">I am a sensitive human-being with insecurities and a fragile ego. It tainted the way I analysed failure. The revelation came once, I took myself out of the equation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7fbb\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">The Process:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"511a\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">To create a meaningful fail-forward-narrative, you have to identify the most influential individuals and adopt their worldview\u200a\u2014\u200aI found an empathy map to be an excellent tool to streamline the process.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"7a91\" class=\"graf graf--figure graf-after--p\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*OvFoAHvLdRm7EKGB6wGCRQ.png\" data-image-id=\"1*OvFoAHvLdRm7EKGB6wGCRQ.png\" data-width=\"600\" data-height=\"388\" \/><figcaption class=\"imageCaption\">Credit to Dave Gray\u2014 <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--figure-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-xplane-collection\/updated-empathy-map-canvas-46df22df3c8a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-xplane-collection\/updated-empathy-map-canvas-46df22df3c8a\">Updated Empathy\u00a0Map<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"1a1a\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\">Shape the plot, through this lens: \u201cPeople who buy from [your competitor] is right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"bc88\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">It takes practice, and some detective work but once you get the hang of it, you\u2019ll be surprised what you find. I\u2019ll share three from my personal favourites.<\/p>\n<p id=\"d5c6\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">Recap: Contectx is, \u2018People who buy from (your competitor) is right\u2019. The following narrative is from the perspective of a prospective client.<\/em><\/p>\n<p id=\"9210\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">What he [Client] saw<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"14f9\" class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p\">\u201cI met their Partner; he arrived without the usual expensive entourage. He introduced us to flamboyant young man, who enthralled us with his passion. We were excited to learn that this was going to be the actual person who would be taking care of the project. They also dialled in the rest of the team to introduce them, and I had an opportunity to ask them a few questions. Oh, the fact that they weren\u2019t wearing expensive suites was refreshing.<\/p>\n<p id=\"fe0b\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">No slides and generic documents, just straight talk. I could see they spent their preparation time exploring some of the challenges we face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"359d\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">What she [Client] said<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"3e8d\" class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p\">\u201cYour approach was refreshing; we did not see any generic methods. I can see how your team will slot into our business processes. The prototype you built to demonstrate the potential solution showed us that you understand our challenge. It feels like we could start tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"3a28\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">What she [Client] felt<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"b14d\" class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p\">\u201cThe CEO is relying on me to turn this project around. Any delay will result in further losses to the company. They were excited about helping me solve this problem, and I felt their enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p id=\"3c72\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">The CIO is retiring early, and if this project is a success, I will be in line for the job. They can help me win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"0bc6\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"66db\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">Empathy comes from understanding the sacrifices a customer has to make to use your product or service. Deep needs go beyond what a brief [or RFP] declare implicitly.<\/p>\n<p id=\"0efb\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing\">Once I placed myself in the shoes of my customer and looked at the competitor, I was able to see a truth about myself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"section section--body section--last\">\n<div class=\"section-divider\">\n<hr class=\"section-divider\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"section-content\">\n<div class=\"section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn\">\n<figure id=\"0b81\" class=\"graf graf--figure graf--leading graf--trailing\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*3iYVXtRAna-kER3wJurDtA.png\" data-image-id=\"1*3iYVXtRAna-kER3wJurDtA.png\" data-width=\"2479\" data-height=\"1300\" data-is-featured=\"true\" \/><figcaption class=\"imageCaption\">Sketch scribles inspired by the conversations that lead to this\u00a0article.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<footer>By <a class=\"p-author h-card\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@werner.puchert\">Werner Puchert<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/p\/8052b26588c2\"><time class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-05-04T22:30:45.223Z\">May 4, 2018<\/time><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"p-canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@werner.puchert\/the-real-reason-we-sucked-8052b26588c2\">Canonical link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Exported from <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\">Medium<\/a> on April 19, 2024.<\/p>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The real reason we sucked \u201cWe lost on price Werner\u201d, I\u2019ve have heard this so many times before. Exhausted, grinding my teeth I catch myself responding in a moment of\u2026 The real reason we\u00a0sucked \u201cWe lost on price Werner\u201d, I\u2019ve have heard this so many times before. Exhausted, grinding my teeth I catch myself responding[&#8230;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-medium"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1914"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3753,"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914\/revisions\/3753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xperience.consulting\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}