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In this episode of Serverless Craic, Map the Market and A Cloud Guru Case Study, we dive into Chapters 7 and 8 of the book The Value Flywheel Effect. The discussion focuses on "Mapping the Market" and a fascinating case study on clarity of purpose, featuring the story of A Cloud Guru.

Discover how mapping the value chain helps companies identify their place in the market, understand competitors, and predict strategic moves. Learn about the transformative impact of a laser-focused North Star and how serverless-first approaches powered scalability and success. The episode includes insightful anecdotes, practical mapping techniques, and lessons from real-world examples like Tesla and A Cloud Guru.

🎯 Key Topics Covered:
- Mapping the market and competition.
- Understanding and leveraging the value chain.
- Insights from A Cloud Guru’s journey to a $2 billion acquisition.
- Practical tips for mapping your strategy effectively.

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Thanks for tuning in, and see you in the next episode, where we’ll explore "Challenging the Environment" in the Value Flywheel framework! 🚀

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Welcome to the latest episode of Serverless Craic! 🎙️ Today, we're diving back into our series on The Value Flywheel Effect, focusing on Chapter 6: "Obsess Over Time to Value."

Join us as we explore the significance of delivering value quickly and efficiently in tech organisations. We discuss the concept of "Time to Value" over "Time to Market," reflecting on how innovation labs and agile structures can help companies pivot, react, and respond to both threats and opportunities.

In this episode, we touch on key topics like:
- The importance of creating a feedback loop to see real user value
- The challenges of organisational inertia and how it can inhibit innovation
- Real-life examples of experimentation and pivoting, including building "trap doors" to validate product assumptions
- The role of situational awareness in overcoming barriers to change

We also delve into how high-performing teams can increase an organisation’s "rate of turn," making it more adaptable in a rapidly evolving market. Whether you're dealing with big projects or experimenting with new technologies, empowering teams to focus on value, rather than just speed, can transform your business outcomes.

If you enjoyed this discussion, don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share.

Serverless Craic from The Serverless Edge
Check out our book The Value Flywheel Effect
Follow us on X @ServerlessEdge
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This episode centres on Chapter Five of the book "The Value Flywheel Effect," focusing on the North Star framework.
We explain how this framework helps teams align their work with a clear, meaningful metric (North Star) and its related leading and lagging metrics.

North Star Framework Overview
We explain the North Star framework, emphasising its use in helping teams coalesce behind a mission or purpose with a visual, collaborative tool. And the importance of leading metrics and lagging metrics, explaining how the North Star framework helps teams reverse engineer leading metrics from lagging ones.

Application of North Star Framework
We look at the usefulness of the North Star framework at both the small startup level and the enterprise level, where it helps link lead measures back to overall business impact.
The North Star framework is powerful for team and individual morale by making work meaningful and aligning it with organisational objectives.
We reference Dan Pink's "mastery, autonomy, sense of purpose" to emphasise the importance of knowing what you are doing and why.
The North Star framework is complementary to mapping for strategy, helping to narrow down on value and focus conversations.

Challenges and Benefits of North Star Framework
It is valuable to ask teams about their metrics and how their work influences them, leading to valuable conversations about measurement and alignment.
We look at the importance of measurement, referencing Grace Hopper's quote about the power of accurate measurement.
Having data and clear alignment to organisational strategy helps teams advocate for change more effectively.
The North Star framework can sometimes reveal that teams are not aligned or that the overall strategy is flawed, likening it to the emperor's new clothes.

Connecting North Star to Business Value
A structured North Star often reveals disconnects in the work being done and its impact on business value, serving as a corrective measure.
We compare the North Star framework to impact mapping, both helping to create a compelling narrative and understand the story of what the team is working on.
It is challenging to craft the North Star for behind-the-scenes teams, but the framework helps align value delivery with business goals.
We discuss Amazon's working backwards process and its similarities with the North Star framework, emphasising the importance of understanding the customer's need and working backwards from there.

Critical Thinking and Leadership
These frameworks are enablers of critical thinking, challenging teams and organizations to question their assumptions and goals.
North Star metrics and key input metrics make it easier to write a compelling press release that aligns with the company's strategy.
Clarity of purpose is the foundation of everything, requiring leadership and courage to implement.

Serverless Craic from The Serverless Edge
Check out our book The Value Flywheel Effect
Follow us on X @ServerlessEdge
Follow us on LinkedIn
Subscribe on YouTube