82: Measuring Outcomes Not Outputs with Jeff Gothelf

Why are big tech companies so successful? It’s not just that they create amazing products leveraging the newest technology. According to this week’s guest, it’s how they approach their work by focusing on continuous customer engagement and measuring outcomes. Even if you’re a service business, or an HR team inside a manufacturing company, or a small business retailer, we can all improve when we measure outcomes instead of outputs. Jeff Gothelf. Jeff helps organizations build better products and executives build the cultures that build better products. He is the co-author of the award-winning book Lean UX and the Harvard Business Review Press book Sense & Respond. Jeff works as a coach, consultant and keynote speaker helping companies bridge the gaps between business agility, digital transformation, product management and human-centered design. Most recently Jeff co-founded Sense & Respond Press, a publishing house for practical business books for busy executives.  Jeff and I talk about how every team can benefit from managing themselves as if they were a technology company. He explains how to be in continuous conversation with your customers no matter who you define as your customers, so you can always be learning and improving. And we talk about how to shift the mindset and measurements of success from outputs to outcomes and why this is so critical for long term success.   Read the related blog article: Outputs or Outcomes: Measuring What Matters   Join the Modern Manager community (www.mamieks.com/join) to get a free digital copy of Jeff’s latest book: Lean Vs Agile Vs Design Thinking to members of The Modern Manager community.  -- This short, tactical book reconciles the perceived differences in Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Agile software development by focusing not on rituals and practices but on the values that underpin all three methods. If you work for a nonprofit or government agency, email me at [email protected] for 20% off any membership level.   Register for my course on delegation: Make More Time: Everything a manager needs to know to delegate successfully. Registration closes January 10, 2020. Early bird pricing ends December 31, 2019. Get a special bonus PDF “5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Delegating” for free when you sign up before December 20th.    Members of The Modern Manager community get 10% off!   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Help me write my new book! I’m researching what makes a manager great to work for. Share your story and experience at www.managerialgreatness.com Help spread the word, too! Share the link with friends and colleagues.