I spared you virus buzzwords in the subject line but it'd be silly to not address how things are changing around us daily. One email that stuck out among the weird 'letter from our CEO about how we're handling COVID x, y, z' sea of spam was one from J. Cornelius at Nine Labs. We both are from Atlanta and kinda knew each other from back when I lived there.
Recently we had a coffee in Amsterdam. He was here setting up a European entity for Nine Labs. He and his wife are keen to relocate here. So, we talked about daily life, doing business and more in The Netherlands.
Well, J. shared some great and actionable food for thought in his last newsletter and I decided to share it here to:
Here are several exercises your company should be doing right now to prepare for and respond to the new normal and be ahead of the pack.:
1. Customer Value Mapping
Map out your customers' path using your products and services to find ways to improve or add to the value you create for them by creating a User Journey Map. How well do you understand the task they are trying to accomplish and the steps they take to do it? Overlay those steps with how your product and business model works to find gaps that can be closed, chances to remove friction, and new ways to create and capture value.
Related: Do you really understand your User Journey?
2. Find Your Adjacent Possible
Look at your organization’s skills and resources alongside current market conditions to find new ways to create and capture value. First make a bullet of things your team does well and has newly freed capacity for. Then make a list of your customers' needs - especially any needs that are new in the wake of how the world has changed. Finally, make a list of potential ways you can address those needs using your skills and capacity to deliver. Focus your efforts on where those three lists intersect.
Related: Framing Your Design Challenges
3. Revisit Your Value Propositions
With a new view of your Customer Journey and how you create value you can breathe new life into your Value Propositions. Use the Value Proposition Canvas to describe who your customer is and what they are trying to accomplish, then connect their pains and gains directly to the pain relievers and gain creators your product delivers.
Related: Download the Value Proposition Canvas and other helpful tools
4. Do a Tech Enablement Review
Every company has some old manual tasks or clunky processes that can be modernized. Looking at your User Journey you can spot processes that can be enhanced or replaced by technology to be more efficient, lower your operating and delivery costs, and drive productivity.
5. Double-Check Your Business Model Alignment
Unlock value by aligning your product strategy with customer goals and your business goals. Magical things can happen when business teams understand their users’ needs and wants. You can discover interesting new sources of revenue for the company while delivering more value to the customer. Now that you have an updated User Journey and Value Proposition, use the Business Model Canvas to sort out how you can increase revenue and lower your costs while providing more value to your customers.
Related: 4 Steps to a Human-Centered Business Model
6. Review Your Design Processes
Even teams who were already working remotely have been disrupted by these changes. Fortunately, there are tried and true methods and processes for staying connected and effective while working from anywhere. Look at how to improve your asynchronous communications so people can focus on getting things done, establish better meeting agendas to make the most of everyone's time, and install better collaboration tools so everyone can stay connected and informed regardless of their location.
Related: The Importance of a Great Design Process
Props to to J for penning a well-earned intro to this week's issue! If your interest is piqued, schedule a call with him here.
As always, thank you for reading,
Jon
p.s.
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(banner image by @elevenspeedloservincent from the Komoot Dutch Language Launch. Read about it here (in Dutch)
Cycling
Pannier.cc & Brother Cycles premiere new bikepacking film, Rainspotting, on Vimeo today
In light of all their film screening & talk cancellations around the world, Pannier.cc & Brother Cycles are to release their new bikepacking film - Rainspotting - via “Watch Party” today. nd, they’d like as many of you to join them as possible, so they're calling all outsiders, cyclists, bikepackers, tourers and armchair adventurers.
Fill up your favourite enamel mug and head to the Scottish Highlands for 17-minutes of escapism - following a group of cyclists as they head off on an opportunistic wintry journey to ride the old-established network of gravel drove roads, only to find themselves bogged-down exploring the alluring voids in between.
KEY DETAILS:
- Time - 19.30GMT
- Date - Wednesday 25th March 2020
- Link - https://vimeo.com/pannierbrother/rainspotting
Broom Wagon: ROBERT QUIRK
Radical to listen to Stefano interview my friend Rob of Quirk Cycles!
Rob Quirk has a lot of talents: frame building, welding, designing bikes, riding, adventuring, writing, shooting photos and talking. Oh Man, he can talk! We met at the AMR and we decided to have a chat on records about frame building and [more]
You can listen on Spotify too!
Mr. 8000Watt: Julien Ted Riganti – #schöneeckenausOffenbach
8000Watt has been a common phrase for me since the Votec Gravel Fondo last summer. Since then, I've become friends with Mr. Riganti and really admire his hustle! This interview in German but worth a read via your translation app of choice.
His day job is music related (as you'll read) and here's livestream mix they produced: twitch.tv/besafe069club
Recent Twotone Work
Find your perfect tire pressure for road, gravel & track w/ new Silca Pro Pressure Calculator
We've been getting the word out on SILCA's new Tire Pressure Calculator.
Thank you Cory for the post and for a deeper dive, check out the latest Marginal Gains TV episode with Josh: https://youtu.be/eyu1kDnNHKw
Also on Bikerumor: the Bikerumor Podcast Ep #32 – ENVE explains pro wheel testing & hookless, tubeless rims for road bikes: https://bit.ly/2R0cB7V
Ampler Digital Test Ride on FB Live
Ampler is sharing insights into what makes their bikes special and answering all the questions you may have live in German & English this Friday.
Using Post Carry Co. to travel to & from the Atlas Mountain Race
Though Post is not a client, the chance to test and feature great products over the years is most certainly a work perk! I recently penned this about using their Transfer Case on my flight to & from Morocco.
Coupling Commercial & Covid Conversations
🦠 The three cleavages - Exponential View by Azeem Azhar
One challenge this past week and this week has been the balance between adjusting to new business challenges (hence the intro) and walking the line of not being to commercially focused in this time. (i.e. proceeding with marketing efforts and pursuing sales targets as if there isn't a global pandemic occurring.
Keeping a level head and staying informed is tough stuff sometimes considering that much changes day to day. Azeem Azar's weekly newsletter has also been compelling read but especially recently. This is his latest issue. Worth a read!
Covid-19’s Economic Pain Is Universal. But Relief? Depends on Where You Live.
In some countries, workers will have 90 percent of lost wages covered. In others, residents fear eviction. Nation to nation, rescue plans reflect conflicting ideas of government’s role in a crisis.
I'm feeling grateful and fortunate to be based in Amsterdam, now, more than ever.
Normal is dead. But soon we’ll have new normal
Laetitia also penned a great send out about confronting the new normal looming before us. Her newsletter is relatively new and worth checking out, especially now.
Normalcy bias and malaise are characteristic of the period of transition between old normal and new normal. It is currently expressed in multiple ways:
• Wanting to pretend you can tend to business as usual;
• Speaking of “remote work” as continuing on with “normal” activities, only online;
• Believing that things will go back to normal in a couple of weeks.
Radness
Climate Change: What can we learn from Europe? ITV News
ITV recently visited Amsterdam and interviewed my partner, Kristy, at the Rapha Cycle Club.
Check it out and learn more about some environmentally friendly initiatives in Amsterdam.