University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Outcome Generation
Book

The Outcome Generation

How a New Generation of Technology Vendors Thrives Through True Customer Success

Paul J. Henderson
Red Raven Books, 2018
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Well Structured
  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Three entrepreneurs approach a hungry man. The first asks what the man wants. He replies, “a sandwich,” so the entrepreneur opens a sandwich shop. The second entrepreneur asks the man what his problem is. He says he’s hungry. So the entrepreneur opens a grocery. The third entrepreneur asks the man what his goal is; he says he wants to feel full and nourished. So the third entrepreneur invents a nutritious, filling pill. He’s the entrepreneur who succeeds. Paul Henderson explains why success – especially for tech vendors – hinges on “outcome-driven thinking” that gives clients what they want.  

Summary

Technology vendors want to ensure that their customers achieve great results.

Today’s technology vendors face a new world. They must look beyond the directly traceable effects their offerings have on customers; tie their products and services to client results; and put their primary focus on achieving the outcomes the buyers want. Nothing is more important than customers’ results. Vendors who fulfill this imperative make up the new “outcome generation.”

At this moment in the tech marketplace when customer outcomes matter most, every successful result has two components. The first is the fresh, new “to-be state” that the winning results provide. For example, when a couple purchases a drill, they look forward to the to-be state of having a picture hanging neatly in the living room. The second component is the client’s “emotional connection” with the to-be state – that is, the satisfaction customers feel when seeing the picture hanging neatly on the wall, thanks to your drill. Combined, the to-be state and the sense of satisfaction create the “success outcome.” 

About the Author

Speaker and consultant Paul Henderson is the developer of the Generation 3 Customer Success program. His first book, The Chief Capability Officer: Delivering the Capability to Execute, focuses on “execution outcomes.”

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