Infographic by Dennis Michael Dimos

A value roadmap can provide a number of sustainable benefits inside the company that invests in the effort.

1. The capabilities section of the value roadmap showcases the gaps between what the roadmap says is needed and what the company can actually provide. The gap analysis showcases exactly where the company needs to improve its own capabilities in terms of people, process, solutions, and services.
2. The gap analysis becomes a decision tree for what, when and how a company needs to fill the gaps. It sets up decisions that need to be made regarding
   1. Priorities
   2. Timing
   3. Investments
   4. Methodology – build, buy or partner
3. The effort to develop the value roadmap can motivate a company. Let’s face it. The work is highly strategic. It’s about creating an innovative yet functional form of intellectual property that can help catapult the company to category leadership. It represents a significant value opportunity, and everyone involved knows it.
4. The roadmap team is a reflection of how powerful a company can be when it aligns its critical assets. The construction of a value roadmap requires the active participation of a cross-functional team from Product Management, Sales, Services, and Marketing. Input in = input out. Smart, committed people supported by executive sponsors will produce a really good result.
5. The roadmap identifies what each department needs to do
   1. Product Management needs to fill gaps in the product portfolio while continually improving existing products that are core to what’s needed
   2. Services can elevate its game from simply supporting customers to strategically guiding customers through a new consulting practice
   3. Marketing must leverage the thought leadership value of the roadmap, first with influencers like analysts and the media, then as a vehicle to drive higher value engagements with customers and prospects
   4. Sales needs to be trained on how to leverage the roadmap content in two ways: to create a new narrative with current customers; and to be able to have a credible conversation with senior executives who heretofore have eluded the company’s reach
6. The content of the roadmap can be repurposed into other thought leadership forms, such as keynote addresses, Point-of-View booklets, executive seminars, workshops, articles, and the like. For one company, we even formed a partnership with a top business school to create an executive education series off of the content of the roadmap. We received money (nice), valuable input (good), access to executives (really good), and the pedigree of partnering with a leading institution (invaluable).

As you have seen in these posts, a value roadmap is a highly worthy endeavor for those companies looking to lead a changing or emerging category. It has clear and sustainable benefits within the marketplace and within the company doing it.

But, it’s not easy. Not in the least. To be successful you have to be willing to commit to the hard work of doing it properly. Here are some tips.

– You have to stay firm with a skeptical sales force used to selling from demos

– You have to test the content of the roadmap as it’s forming with real customers in real sales situations as often as you can

– And, you have to be willing to take to heart what one of my executive partners in one of these efforts said when he admonished a Services team for not fully committing to the roadmap as it was forming. He said, “Get with the (expletive) program! If you’re not on the roadmap you’re off strategy!!!”

That was … and very much is … the point. A value roadmap is the strategy that can make all the difference. It has for the many companies with whom I’ve done this. It certainly did for the company and executive in the above story. Now, 10 years later, the company is leveraging version 6 of their roadmap as the clear leader of their market space. And that passionate executive is the CEO/President of the company!

Thomas Butta

Much is written about value. Even more is said about it. Value just might be the most overused word in business today.

At the organization level, we hear about customer value, shareholder value, and enterprise value. At the department level, Product Management wants its products to be perceived as good value not high cost. Sales wants to sell from value rather than feature/functions. And, Marketing is measured on the value of leads and brand equity.

Even support departments like Finance, IT and HR strive for value. Finance wants positive returns of value for capital deployed. IT must demonstrate value to its business unit customers. And, HR strives for a culture that recognizes the value of individuals.

If value is so important, why is there a dearth of proven ways to create and capture value in a given market space? A clear path to value would seem to be critical at a time when competitive differentiation is short-lived and the rate of change has accelerated.

My experience shows there is little content out there to help an enterprise know how to truly identify and realize top and/or bottom line value in their market. Which is enormously frustrating to client-side executives looking for clarity amidst the noise created by multitudes of companies touting their particular solution sets.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be shown the way to value rather than sold solutions? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a roadmap from a trusted advisor to guide your way to value — especially in a market that’s undergoing rapid change? You bet it would.

So what is there to do? Rise above the noise. Stop selling your stuff, and start making sense of the madness. Become a thought leader for your industry. Develop a value roadmap that shows the way to create and capture value in your market space. It works. I’ve helped architect a number of value roadmaps for companies in emerging or changing industries like PLM (product lifecycle management), Customer Experience Management, Digital Media, and Scientific R&D, among others.

What does a value roadmap look like? It’s a map that shows discrete routes to value along with specific advice on capabilities needed to capitalize on the journey. On the one hand you delineate the opportunities to create value. On the other you provide advice on the people, process, and technology needed to capture value. Simply put, a value roadmap shows where to go, how to go, and what’s needed to maximize value.

A road to value is organized by the following connected route and competencies:

More specifically, a value roadmap is comprised in the following ways:

–  Two measures of value. One is growth. The other is cost savings

–  Seven or eight discrete value opportunities. These are proven opportunities to create either top line growth or bottom line cost savings. One or two of the value opportunities might create both top and bottom line value

–  Two to four executing strategies for each value opportunity. These are the strategic imperatives that bring the value opportunities to life

–  Four to six business initiatives aligned to each strategy. These are the activities taking place deep inside an organization. Business initiatives are typically where most conversations start

–  Three sets of competencies in the form of people skills, process/workflow, and technology infrastructure needed to fully realize each value opportunity

Beyond the structure, it’s critical to know what a value roadmap is and isn’t.

A value roadmap is an overarching view of an industry for the benefit of everyone in that industry. As such, it is imperative to present a complete view of the capabilities and credentials needed.

A value roadmap is not a subset of just what your organization might be able to provide when it comes to knowledge transfer, process support or technology. The capabilities needed to fully leverage each value opportunity must be all encompassing.

Again, a value roadmap is an industry-leading effort. It is thought leadership at its best. And, unlike most thought leadership, a value roadmap is highly functional because it is actionable and real.

A value roadmap has clear and immediate benefits to any company operating in your market space. But, it also represents a significant opportunity for the company that publishes it and leverages it. Look for more on that in my next post, The Road to Value, part 2.

Note: If you like this post, you might want to check out another of my posts called Noise. It’s an example of how a value roadmap shifted an entire industry and helped position the company that brought it to market as that industry’s leader.

Thomas Butta

I am sure you would agree that people don’t often put ‘brand’ and ‘business model’ in the same sentence. While both are critical to the success of a company, they are often seen as different and separate. Does that make sense – especially in an era where vision, velocity and precision must go hand in hand? I think not.

Before you introduce marketing and sales best practices into a company, you need to FIRST transform the brand to the business model or the business model to the brand. Skipping this step wastes tremendous resources downstream — not to mention the loss of time in the marketplace.

Why do I say this?

Vision is execution done properly. A solid, powerful, even compelling vision is only as good as how well it’s executed. Before you engage best of breed capabilities on the execution side — publicity gurus, marketing program experts, sales effectiveness training, marketing benchmarks, creative talent, and the like — you must FIRST transform the brand to the business model or vice versa. Disregarding this imperative is not only wasteful in terms of money, it costs the company its most valuable asset – time in a fast-moving marketplace.

At the end of the day, it’s not about logos, thought leadership, catchy slogans, brand attributes, vision statements, product strategies, sales messaging or compensation programs, it’s about getting your market position and strategy aligned with your business position and strategy. It’s about setting up the brand and business model to reinforce and build off of each other. Only after this alignment is assured does it make sense to put your marketing, sales, and communications to work.

Thomas Butta

Social media is everywhere,

For all of our fascination with social media, I ask, have we become anti-social?

Sit in any office environment and what do you see?
People with their eyes glued to their computers. Alone.

Peer inside most cars on the road and who is there?
A driver. On the phone.

What forms of communication are most prevalent?
E-mail. Texts. Posts. Chat.

Sure, we’re communicating at record rates, but a critical form of communication is missing: Human interaction! You know, good old-fashioned face-to-face talking in real-time.

Nowhere is face-to-face communication more critical than when you are leading a change agenda. Whether it’s a new way, a new idea, or a new plan, experienced change agents practice a proven art form – socializing an idea. Remember that?

No matter how big or even how good your idea is, the best way to get people to try it, let alone adopt it, is to talk about it early and often. Successful change agents practice this anywhere and everywhere – in one-on-one or group settings, in a conference room, in the hallway, over coffee or during a meal.

There is extraordinary value gained when you make eye contact, witness body language, feel the emotion behind what’s said, and observe what’s not being said.

You’ve heard a lot about the transformation PTC was able to pull off in going from a once proud product company that had lost its way to a higher value thought leader in a new, more strategic space. The shift that needed to occur for PTC to have a chance to win was seismic. The forces of inertia holding the company back were formidable.

Sure, the ideas of what needed to be done and how to execute them were smart and powerful. But it was the practice of socializing the idea that won people over. Whether it was the early morning runs, one-on-one or small group meetings, lunches, dinners, or long flights, the art of socializing the new idea was practiced. Even large group settings weren’t one-way diatribes. They were either discussions or previews about early thinking, possibilities, and what might be. Dialogue was encouraged. Feedback was provided. Ideas were refined. So when the formalized agenda for the new way was officially launched, many people were not only on board, they felt as is they were already a part of the change culture simply because they had a voice in it.

Social media is fantastic for conveying information in new, exciting ways. But if you want to drive sustainable change, make time to have face-to-face chats, too. It will make all the difference.

• Install new leadership in the executive suite – especially in the areas of product, sales, or marketing

• Introduce either a new or drastically improved product

• Sign up an impressive list of partners – be they on the product or distribution side

• Commission a breakthrough industry study

• Publish the results of that study in a provocative point-of-view that challenges conventional notions

• Streamline and simplify your pricing, contracts and service

• Market the company more purposefully with a compelling voice and an engaging image

• Train your sales force to sell based on value not features, function or price

• Become more visible by participating in important industry venues – live and virtual – as a speaker, panelist, writer, and contributor

• Line up select customers, analysts and pundits to talk about the positive changes taking place at your company

• Identify a media channel that is intrigued by your moves