Add the POW to the WOW; Achieve Lasting Strategic Value

Success in any interaction is about providing the wow [or value]; be it a tactical communication, strategy, or transformation initiative. The best minds also say success is about going the extra mile, but how can we supercharge “the wow” so we are providing real pow? We do this by combining achieving value and providing results which delights (wows) stakeholders.

Achieving Value: Think Big; Act Small; Move Fast; Implement Now.

Providing Value: Resulting Information (data, analysis, communication, product feature etc.) should be Visual, Useful & Actionable

But wait, that can’t be it: Just thinking and acting, then showing and sharing??

Let’s start with the Iphone: It was transformative, and it didn’t start small. The iPhone was transformative, but if you research the history of the iPhone (Wikipedia link anyone), Apple didn’t start out making an iPhone, they started out making a phone iPod; yet with small incremental steps, but still remaining true to Apple’s big idea (being unafraid to test and use the information learned in testing to change) we now have the iPhone. The point is however, they did make a step. The journey cannot start without one step forward.

Oh, by the way, did you notice the rollout of the iPhone? It was visual, the roll out described how to use it, and it was useful, and in immediately actionable ways? In fact, isn’t every Apple commercial about how visual, useful and actionable it is to interact with their products? Now, let’s see why it was so successful.

The How in POW: Achieving Value

We achieve value not with small ideas, but big ones; not with big transformative actions, but with mini ones which provide value; and forging ahead with action, which eventually (when we look back) results in events which are indeed groundbreaking, communicative or transformative. We cannot be afraid to fail, because we learn.

Think Big (& Focus) — The bigger the better. The idea has to be so big it barely fits in a simple ten-word sentence, and it shouldn’t change for a long while (but we can refine so it’s understandable). Whether that idea is being “the best in customer service”, or being “America’s #1 car”, or even being “The best darn sports show on television” boldness is your friend, and cannot, should not diminish. The most important thing thou is to be bing in business terms, not company segments.
Act Small (& Test) — The first thing to do is act, but act in a simple, small, end to end closed, testable, completely working loop. And while you’re crafting, acting, testing, not everyone’s going to understand your vision, and not everyone is going to be onboard, so it’s up to you to make it happen. Every step forward is a bit farther. ex. Going to be the best baker of cupcake? Plan on banking a dozen to see if you can even bake; plan on eating a lot more. Going to switch backend servers for a multinational company? Can you even switch ten cubes on the 4th floor? After the switch Are the servers up and working and the people happy? A proof of concept with minimal funds but maximum effort is worth far more than a large transformative idea that doesn’t work.
Move Fast (& Now) — There should be a sense of immediacy: You must act. You must implement, and you must, must, do it with the resources you have on hand. Don’t have the resources? Then the only thing left is to barter, trade and negotiate. And when you’re done acting, pause a moment to either learn from your failure or see if your success is still pointed toward your vision. Time to start asking questions, can you innovate? Can you make it better, more efficient? Does it scale? Pick one and try again, but even bigger.
Implement Now (& Wow It) — The best way to find out if something works or you’re even close to your vision is to let others use it. Then measure it, and refine it. It’s ok if what was tried failed. You’ll be back to the drawing board, perfecting the perfect, and when you get to the wow Stop! It’s time to move to the next item in the list. Because you must keep trying to achieve the vision.

We cannot be afraid to fail, because we learn.

And make sure to celebrate the hell out of your successes. Make sure to make the information about the results Provide Value (visible, useful, actionable), and are communicated in such a way that they are providing value to the receiver thereby closing the loop.

The POW in WOW: Providing Value

There are many ways to achieve organizational success, but the one that matters is by wowing clients, customers, bosses — basically any stakeholder by providing information (data, analysis, etc), service, or product functionality which is, in one package, immediately visual, useful and actionable so the stakeholders can realize the full benefit of their strategic goals. Allow me to repeat that… wow enables and produces benefits which achieve organizational goals.

Make it Visual (& Comparable) — visual doesn’t just mean an email or an icon graphic. Visual doesn’t mean a power point or a dashboard. Visual means easy to understand at a glance; visual means information fully analyzed with a conclusion or communication which is contextual. But most of all, the receiver understands the information, and is happy to interact with it. The “Value” must be appropriate to the right stakeholder, and best if compared to something the stakeholder expects.
ex. Emailing your account receivable that you’ve installed 200 servers in 10 minutes isn’t appropriate, while an emailing informing your developers they are able to stand up 200 servers in 10 minutes vs the 200 in 2 hours (the last time they asked) is a step in the right direction.
Just as it would be would be appropriate if the accounting department had a bill for the servers use on demand or better yet, available in the accounting system, and didn’t need to hunt down a developer.
Make it Useful (Just in Time or Preemptively)– The best information arrives just before the receiver realizes they needed it. The information is useless if it was needed last week. A PR campaign about weather proofing is useless after a hurricane. In the accounting example, saving the accounting department hours of processing just before just before the monthly close is useful (and just in time)
Make it Actionable (& Shareable) — Actionable value is something which tells a story or confirms a direction and the user/viewer would immediately like to share. Such value should motivate, enlighten and expand thought processes, or provide a means for the user to act upon the information in a repeated manner. It’s even better if the stakeholder pauses if only to go “wow.” But information kept oneself is useless. Make it useful by sharing it in an understandable manner, increasing its value to others.

Wow (value) enables and produces benefits which achieve organizational goals.

As the above graph shows, you won’t always go up, but you shouldn’t go into negatives. Simply provide small but immediately tangible results which delight, establish a string of success, but keep your focus on the bigger picture. This is pretty much all you need to add POW to the WOW, and execute a transformational strategy.

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