Embedding Experimentation is Product Management

Anuraag Verma, Global Head of Strategic Transformation at Feedback Loop, shares how large organizations can use experimentation principles to de-risk decisions, test critical assumptions, and get innovation to stick -- and scale.

What does the process of creating a stand-up routine have in common with product experimentation?

In order to attain feedback that decreases the risk of failure -- whether it’s a product or a stand-up routine -- you must test assumptions, get reaction from real people, iterate, and continually work to improve.

Anuraag Verma is both a former stand-up comedian and Global Head of Strategic Transformation at Feedback Loop, and he’s dedicated his career to product development, change management strategy, and digital transformation roles across the globe. At Feedback Loop, he works with leadership teams at large organizations to change mindsets and embed experimentation into their everyday workflow.

In Verma’s experience, digital transformation can often be a frustrating and challenging pursuit for many companies. Experimentation implies business risk, embracing change is difficult, and scaling it is even more difficult.

“A lot has been said about digital transformation and what makes it fail or what makes it succeed,” he says. “It comes down to one thing: You’re trying to get humans to change. You’re trying to get them to do something new, and to do something uncomfortable. One of the biggest challenges is how do [you] get someone to do something that might be uncomfortable? And furthermore, something they might not be incentivized to do.”

Meaningful change, according to Verma, only happens when organizations have the right mindset, a relevant skill set, and an accessible toolset. This requires both a top-down approach (senior leadership from cross-functional teams actively championing a change effort and providing coaching to employees) and a bottom-up approach (incentivizing teams to think and act in new ways with recognition or financial rewards).

In this episode, you’ll learn a lot about digital transformation, experimentation principles, training, and influencing stakeholders.

Here are the highlights: 

• Common digital transformation challenges facing organizations today (5:09)
• How to drive meaningful change and incentivize teams to think in new ways (7:04)
• Explaining the business benefits of experimentation and alleviate the concerns (11:01)
• Ways leaders can accelerate cross-functional decision-making (21:46)
• How to approach experimentation training and workshops for teams (24:31)
• What you can do to ensure people don’t go back to “business as usual” after a workshop (27:04)