The Circuit Breaker

Cause and effect is something that affects every area of our lives, even if we aren't aware of it. This is particularly true in innovation. On today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg dive into a subject covered in Bob's book, "Learning to Build," namely causal structures, and why they represent one of the five bedrock skills every innovator must possess. They discuss correlation versus causation, as well as the differences between iterating, innovating, and inventing.

They also discuss what's coming next for Bob's book, including a course based off the training in the book coming in 2023.

Join Bob and Greg for this thought-provoking and timely discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• Why causal structures are one of the bedrock skills that an innovator should have.
• The importance of thinking about cause and effect in relation to a product?
• Understanding the interdependence between inputs and outputs.
• The primary difference between innovating and iterating.
• And so much more...

Resources:

Learning to Build book

The Rewired Group Website

Technical benchmarking is usually done on the supply side, and consumer benchmarking is done on the demand side. On today's Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg talk about benchmarking and how it works as a kind of prototyping to find a common language for marketing, sales and developing a better product. You'll learn about technical benchmarking and customer benchmarking and how they are used at different times for different purposes, yet blend seamlessly. You will learn about the importance of technical and customer benchmarking. Bob's perspective as an engineer and product developer will help you understand technical benchmarking and its two roles. Bob will also discuss the QFT method and how it relates to benchmarking.

Greg will explain why he calls consumer benchmarking "contextual benchmarking" You will learn about the process of consumer benchmarking and why most companies are better at technical benchmarking than customer benchmarking. They'll explain why you need a third party for benchmarking to move your business forward. You will learn how benchmarking leads to more Jobs To Be Done. Greg will talk about how he has seen benchmarking go wrong.

Join Bob and Greg for this thought-provoking and timely discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• The different types of benchmarking
• Can you do technical benchmarking in a school?
• Why benchmarking is not the same as concept testing
• Why do technical experts need to be involved in consumer benchmarking?
• How important it is to build a competitive set when purchasing 
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website

I don't need to sell my product; I need to help people buy it. On today's Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg discuss their book Demand-Side Sales. They will talk about why they wrote it, and what they learned from it. They'll also talk about what they believe to be the most difficult challenge for people implementing demand-side sales. Bob will give his perspective on between getting the first yes or no, which is more important in sales. You will learn what progress means in Jobs to Be Done and why it is so important in sales. You will discover why you, as a salesperson,  actually need to be a therapist. They'll discuss the problem of feature-benefit selling and how to make it more effective.

You'll discover why it is difficult to apply demand-side sales to companies that have not done Jobs To Be Done. They will share how difficult it was for them to do Jobs To Be Done as well and how contracting with another company changed their sales and marketing processes. They will provide insights into the two demand-side sales courses that are yet to be launched.

Join Bob and Greg for this thought-provoking and timely discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• Why are there no sales professors? 
• The mindset shift that most salespeople need 
• In sales, is it more important to get the first yes or the first no?
• The value of understanding Jobs To Be Done when doing demand-side sales
• Do most companies know why customers buy their product?
• Why you need to hire someone to do Jobs To Be Done
• Tidbits about the demand-side sales courses
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website

When you do a survey or ask a customer in a very generic way, "Why did you buy this?" and they say, "On impulse," that's just a way to shut you down. On today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg unravel impulse buys. They talk about the classic mattress, the interview with Brian Walker where he explains why buying a mattress was an impulse buy for him. This topic is covered in more detail in Competing Against Luck and Demand Side Sales 101. From a business perspective, you will see why classifying your products as impulse buys is a bad idea: It's a form of laziness. Greg will use an analogy to show how quickly people can make decisions.

You'll learn why you should not stop when you hear the word "impulse buy". It's time to dig deeper and your job is to help people remember why. Greg will explain if Bob is an impulse buyer. You will also find out why Bob bought the rare Ohio State University medal as well as all of their efforts to get Bob to minimize his purchases. You will understand why people use shopping websites.

Join us for this thought-provoking discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• Is there such a thing as an impulse buy?
• Why classifying your product as an impulse purchase is a form of laziness. 
• How quickly humans can make decisions.
• The two main categories with impulse buying 
• Why irrational becomes rational with context.
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website

Restocking is all about consistency, and shopping is when I have an anomaly. On today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg go over the difference between "restocking" and "shopping" and show you how to get your customers into the habit of buying. You'll learn how to change the design of your product to make it more impactful, and that doing so may be harmful. If you have a top-selling product and change the packaging to make it better, are you really making it better or making it harder for people to find? They'll also talk about advertising and developing a more context-driven product. You'll learn how their shopping-restocking framework incorporates an empathetic perspective.

You'll hear Bob's narrative about switching shampoos and how it fits into their shopping-restocking framework. They'll explain how you set up criteria for a Job To Be Done when you are in shopping mode. You will also understand why you should not rely on a product being "out of stock" to generate new sales. They will define the terms "restocking" and "shopping."

Join Bob and Greg for this thought-provoking and timely discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• The difference between restocking and shopping?
• Why restocking is all about habit
• How you can use Jobs To Be Done when shopping and in advertising 
• The importance of empathetic perceptive 
• What the consequences are if you alter your product while someone is restocking
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website

Really good innovators and entrepreneurs have this ability to see things and connect the dots between different views. They are empathetic because they do not judge what it is. Rather, they ask themselves, What is it? And what can we do with it? On today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg talk about the empathetic perspective in Bob's new book, Learning to Build. Bob will explain why he does not like personas and why you need them. You'll discover why the empathetic perspective is more art than science. You'll also learn why you need diverse perspectives on your team and how different worldviews are connected.

When Bob wrote his book, he studied a lot of good innovators and entrepreneurs. You'll learn how they anticipate problems before they happen. Greg will address the most difficult aspect of having an empathetic view of people. He will also talk about his experience working in an independent living facility. You will learn why it is easier to practice an empathetic perspective in a group setting than alone. You will see why Greg is known as "Bob's Whisperer" You will also learn the steps you need to take to adopt an empathetic perspective.

You will discover several skills that are part of an empathetic perspective. Bob will explore some of the obstacles that prevent us from adopting an empathetic perspective. You will learn how Greg maintains an empathic stance with Bob and what is the most important thing you can take away from an empathic perspective.

Join us for this thought-provoking discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• What is an empathetic perspective?
• A teaser of a future episode
• How good innovators and entrepreneurs see problems before they arise 
• The importance of being able to put yourself in someone else's role
• The importance of empathetic perspective in the workplace.
• Why Bob always asks unconventional questions
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website

We do a postmortem on the podcast to help us frame what we're going to do in season two.

In today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, we reflect on a tool we frequently use, the postmortem, and present some thoughts on the season that just ended.

You'll learn about the unexpected growth Bob and Greg have achieved.

You'll learn what strategies they plan to use to increase growth next season.

Join us for this fascinating and thought-provoking discussion!

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show: 

• Bob's mastery of the postmortem and when he employs it.
• Some of Bob and Greg's struggling moments in the first season. 
• Hints at the possible themes for season two.
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website (https://therewiredgroup.com/)

The Postmortem PDF https://bit.ly/3yfSzfs

I see prototyping as a tool that I can use on both the supply and demand sides.

In today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, we take a closer look at one of the skills Bob discusses in his book Prototyping to learn. 

Bob distinguishes between divergent and convergent prototypes and the contexts in which both can be used.

You'll learn about the dimensions of prototyping. 

You'll learn why 80% of the code generated by some software companies doesn't make it into the product.

Bob explains why A/B testing is the most ineffective way to test anything.

Join us for this fascinating and thought-provoking discussion!

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show: 

The difference between the demand side and the supply side.

About the role of prototypes.

Questions to ask yourself to understand what prototypes you need.

Is A/B testing prototyping? 

And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website (https://therewiredgroup.com/)

When we are at a very early stage of the development process, it is very difficult to get big data.

In today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, we take a look at Big Data to show you how to develop better products.

You'll learn why Big Data is not the answer, but only part of the answer. 

Bob will talk about design of experiments. 

You will discover why it is very important to look at the market in context. 

Bob will share the projects they have worked on to help with Big Data.

Join us for this riveting discussion.

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• The impact of Big Data on innovation. 
• Where you can leverage Big Data.
• Why over-reliance on Big Data is detrimental. 
• The importance of clustering data rather than segmenting it. 
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website (https://therewiredgroup.com/)

Todd Rose | The End of Average

Thomas Kuhn | The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

“When you're actually in the B2B space, you need to satisfy both the consumer and the customer.”

In today's episode of the Circuit Breaker Show, Bob and Greg discuss the distinction between a customer and a consumer and how you can distinguish the two. 

Bob will also explain the difference between big hires and small hires.

You'll discover a unique scenario where 'Jobs To Be Done' are in conflict. 

You'll learn how to determine the overlap between the customer and the consumer.  

Bob will reveal his approach when dealing with clients.

Join us for this insightful discussion about approaching your business from a customer-consumer perspective

Enjoy!

What You'll Learn in this Show:

• Identifying who needs to make progress for you to sell more.
• The importance of aligning both the consumer and the customer. 
• How making trade-offs ensures customer and consumer satisfaction.
• And so much more...

Resources:

The Rewired Group Website (https://therewiredgroup.com/)