A Lean Approach To Career Development

A trusted advisor suggested that I read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries to improve my company. Yet just a few chapters into the book, I realized that not only could it advance my business, it has the potential to improve the career results of my clients, as well.

The heart of lean startup is about developing a successful product or service by being as efficient as possible, relying heavily on input from future buyers to direct how it should be created.

Say you have an idea for building a better mousetrap. Traditional approaches would have you talking with an engineer to create a prototype. In a lean process, however, creating a prototype would happen only after you’ve determined if a) the market really wants a better mousetrap, and b) how they’d like it built and supported.

Those steps involve talking directly to your market for input, through a series of interviews called discovery conversations. Thanks to the accessibility of potential customers through social media, without too much effort you can soon be in gathering information from target buyers, asking questions such as, “What would you think about a mousetrap that did X?”, filling in a feature  you’re considering. Next you might move on to creating a minimum viable product—something low end just to convey a concept—and test that with your market, too. In the end, you’re far more likely to produce a successful result with minimal investment.

These same concepts can apply to career progress as well. For the professional who was laid off because of low demand for her specialty, or who is thinking about a career change, she can execute discovery conversations with decision makers at prospective employer organizations. Questions such as, “I’m considering getting a certification in X to improve my chances for landing a job in Y. What’s your opinion on this strategy?” can guide wise career development, versus staying stuck or guessing about steps to take.

If you’d like to learn more about lean processes, the Innosphere is hosting a free webinar on April 11^th from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Register at http://bit.ly/LeanProductDev