N-of-8 case study: Leveraging an existing asset to a larger vision

It's good to look back on successful uses of N-of-8 to learn how it might apply to your current challenges.

Here was one situation from a few years ago:

Precedex is an important product for Hospira, one that can change practice and benefit patients.  The company was committed to reaching big goals and making this a blockbuster product for Hospira.   

And step one was bringing the corporate decision-makers together in one room for a workshop to use their collective experience and expertise to drive thinking, establish priorities, and focus on the most important things – the right things in the right order.

The Precedex team recognized the importance of developing a “vision” strategy – building a solid foundation for this unique and valuable product.

The main goal for this N-of-8 Vision Advancement was to initiate the development of a three-year Precedex strategy map that would identify the overarching strategy, sub-strategies, issues and top-line tactics for increasing awareness, expanding reach, and increasing sales. The team understood the importance of identifying and articulating a value proposition from the perspective of the customer and came together to explore and develop Precedex strategy maps using the N-of-8 along with our Strategic GPS® process.

We began the N-of-8 initiative with pre-workshop “listening” interviews designed to gather preliminary ideas and thinking around what was possible.  In the session, the team determined “where we are” in relation to the customer, and advanced the thinking to identify “where we want to be” in 3 to 5 years, from a customer perspective.

This exploration further focused and defined thinking as it relates to overall strategy and vision development.

Benchmarking business cases of other visionary companies

I’ve had many opportunities to facilitate medical brand vision workshops.

In one I particularly enjoyed, our objective was to create viable 3-year “vision scenarios” for a portfolio of products. The focus was on a successful brand launch as a key short- term goal, while simultaneously managing the lifecycle of an older brand, accelerating a bread-and-butter brand’s growth, and preparing for a successful follow-on product launch.

The cross-functional team was first given an overview of the improved market conditions and expanded manufacturing capacity. This allowed us to engage everyone to imagine a “different world” and create excitement in thinking about a brand-driven market.

Then, we introduced several historical examples of vision that changed perceptions. These included the Manhattan Project, Black Mountain College arts school, the Apollo space mission, and Disney’s animation studio and Epcot Center.

The main element of the meeting was benchmarking business cases of visionary companies to demonstrate how to imagine a different world. The cases were divided into three groups:

1. New World Shapers – eBay, Medtronic, iPod/iPhone
2. Lifestyle/Experience Creators - Harley-Davidson, Starbucks
3. Category Killers - Best Buy, Home Depot

Using these cases as a start, three breakout groups applied a similar vision to our portfolio. We asked, “What if...we are pursuing a strategy like...(brand)?” What new ideas would that generate in the areas of: new processes or steps, sales & marketing programs, market research insights, customer relationships, expert practice leadership, and contingency plans.

We also applied a rough SWOT analysis to the vision scenarios to assess our ability to win (and why), the size of opportunity (volume and/or $), growth potential, and stronger overall brand positioning.