Consider your opposing forces
Businesses in the value economy identify and account for the forces operating in opposition to effective value delivery.
![Looking down at two fists in perfect opposition to each other. Looking down at two fists in perfect opposition to each other.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F94a3c4f2-7498-4460-a3fa-e506ecc0391f_1600x1000.jpeg)
“And this is Boston Medical Center,” the guide said in a noticeable rhythm.
He then highlighted two medical breakthroughs: antiseptic and general anesthesia. Both were introduced at about the same time. General anesthesia took off; antiseptic did not. The reason (according to the guide) was that while general anesthesia made life easier for surgeons (imagine not having to hold your patient down to keep them from thrashing about while you try to operate on them), antiseptic bothered their skin (burning, rash, dry skin — I can’t recall the specific issue).
The surgeons knew that the antiseptic would allow them to become the person they wanted to be — someone who saves lives — by preventing infection. Yet they wouldn’t use it. Were I advising Ye Olde Antiseptic Co., I would recommend that they talk to the surgeons (the people they serve) to find out why.
The conversation would reveal an opposing force: a persistent resistance that prevents surgeons from using antiseptic every time they scrub which in turn puts patients at risk during every surgery.
Businesses in the value economy identify and account for opposing forces. An opposing force operates in opposition to effective value delivery. These forces include regulations, supply chain disruptions, individual resistance to change, and barriers within your business (to name a few).
.
How to identify opposing forces
I can think of few actions that won’t have resistance attached.1 As a team, you want to identify opposing forces before you initiate action. You also need an ongoing process to identify and address opposing forces you didn’t anticipate (or risk getting knocked on your ass).
Not every choice requires the same depth of consideration. A good rule is to match the depth and breadth of your inquiry to the level of irreversibility. If you can reverse the action, don’t overthink; make a choice, act, and assess. If you can’t reverse the action, take the time to think deeply about all the opposing forces so you account for them before you step forward.
You can stimulate your thinking by evaluating each of these potential sources:
individual team members
team as a group
individual(s) outside your team
group(s) outside your team
state government
federal government
cultural trends
global trends
You can also think about the implementation process from inception through input loop2 and all the touchpoints that go with it. All those touchpoints — and the people attached to them — may illuminate a potential opposing force.
How to account for opposing forces
Now that you’ve identified opposing forces, you need to deliberately shape what you do and how you do it to account for those forces.
There are four approaches:
1. Eliminate
In some cases, the best approach is to eliminate the opposing force entirely. For example, Ye Olde Antiseptic Co. could change the formulation of their antiseptic so it doesn’t irritate surgeons’ hands. Opposing force eliminated.
.
2. Circumnavigate
You can also work around the opposing force. Ye Olde Antiseptic Co. could explore putting the antiseptic on everything except the surgeons’ hands.
.
3. Mitigate
You might not be able to avoid the opposing force, in which case, your approach may be to limit it. Perhaps Ye Olde Antiseptic Co. can’t eliminate the issue with a reformulation, but they can reduce the level of inflammation.
.
4. Enhance
The opposing force may provide an opportunity for you. Instead of simply eliminating the opposing force by reformulating their patented antiseptic, Ye Olde Antiseptic Co. could also create a hand lotion that pairs with it to tend specifically to surgeons’ hands. In addition to delivering an additional layer of value to the people they serve, this enhancement acts as an added layer of insurance that the initial opposing force is no longer at play.
Assess which approach will result in the most effective value delivery. (I’ll take the bet that fixing the formulation will likely yield better results than not applying it to the surgeons’ hands.)
You may also find that you need to deploy more than one approach simultaneously, particularly when the best approach will take a long time to implement.
Say a state regulation didn’t allow Ye Olde Antiseptic Co. to sell both their Surgeon’s Partner™ antiseptic wash and their Surgeon’s Glove™ hand lotion; they could only sell one. They may advocate for a change in legislation as part of their longest time horizon while they focus on serving surgeons in other states in the shorter term.
Not all friction is an opposing force
When I teach opposing forces, many people interpret them this way: Any resistance is an opposing force to our ability to deliver value effectively and we must eliminate it.
That’s simply not true. Just because something pushes in opposition doesn't mean it's preventing effective value delivery. Friction can prove valuable if it’s in play deliberately.3
Ye Olde Antiseptic Co. may have the ability to apply the antiseptic instantly but decide to leave in the friction that comes from surgeons’ applying it carefully to their hands and forearms before each surgery because the company determined that the process created another layer of value. Not only did having to apply the antiseptic themselves increase their ownership of that process, but the antiseptic application process became a ritual that gave the surgeons space to collect themselves before beginning surgery.4
.
Understanding forces at play
Businesses in the value economy exist to deliver value to the people they serve. In a perfect world, you would test choices in a vacuum, have those tests go well, and deliver value effectively.
But this is no perfect world. Not only do you need to account for other groups that may have found a better way to deliver the value you exist to deliver, you must also deal with forces that push against your efforts to deliver value in the first place.
Thinking holistically about these opposing forces puts you in a stronger strategic position. You can account for these forces as you plan. You can also adapt to them as you identify them in practice.
That may mean leaving that friction in place because it makes you more effective, not less.
“To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” remains a useful law in areas outside of science.
Input loops exist as part of your workflow. They’re how you gather input, especially from the people you serve. Each loop should include outreach, listening, assessing, action, and a response.
The IKEA effect describes how people value an object more if they make it themselves. According to the article I read way back in the day, there was a sweet spot: no friction resulted in valuing the object less, but too much friction made the process too frustrating.
Note that this added layer of value aligns with the company’s purpose.