High Definition Line Of Sufficiency: Defining Sufficiency Sufficiently
/By Duncan Anderson. To see all blogs click here.
Reading time: 9 mins
Summary: Most things can be improved indefinitely (ie are ceilingless); as such reaching perfection isn’t possible. So you have to stop somewhere, this place I call ‘sufficiency’. The higher resolution your understanding of sufficiency the better you can allocate resources. Not defining sufficiency is often a path to wasting time; either spending too little time or spending too much time.
Levels Of Sufficiency Understanding
The levels:
L0: Not aware of the concepts of Sufficiency vs Perfectionism (see below for details)
L1: Have a low resolution understanding of Sufficiency
L2: Have a High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency
Comment
Building possible levels of sufficiency normally orients a team around where to get to and understanding the tradeoffs in how to get there.
In some respects, building a ‘High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency’ is building a ‘navigational framework’. The framework:
1. Agree upon the Job To Be Done = The direction you are heading
2. Define levels of Sufficiency = What are the possible places to stop and possible tradeoffs involved
3. Agree upon the High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency = Agreed upon high resolution understanding of the place to stop
For large projects or projects with a large amount of new I’ve found it very useful to have a ‘High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency’.
Please see below for examples of using this framework.
If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?
Defining Sufficiency sufficiently (AKA building a High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency) is a core way to understand where you are going and if you are there.
Jingle: They say don’t work hard, work smart. Well I say, ‘work sufficiently’!
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Details
This blog is a development of two prior blogs - I recommend reading each of them
Blog 1: Sufficiency > Perfectionism
Blog 2: Taxonomised thinking: if you don’t taxonomise your thinking you’ll get your results taxed
High Definition Line Of Sufficiency = 1. Sufficiency > Perfectionism * 2. Taxonomised thinking
“Sufficiency > Perfectionism” summary
Most things in the world do not have a ‘ceiling’, meaning you can never not improve further. For ceilingless places, perfection is not attainable. As such you need to stop somewhere as ‘enough’, I normally refer to the line you stop as ‘sufficiency’.
Ceilingless Vs Ceilings
Some places do have a ceiling.
Eg do you properly administer the vaccine, you can’t 140% administer the vaccine. Eg is the water drinkable, you can’t have 140% drinkable water.
For ceilingless places you can’t ever reach ‘perfection’.
Examples of ceilingless places:
1. How good a book can be.
2. How to make the best coffee.
3. How to best teach maths.
4. How to be a friend.
5. How to best help the common good.
Sufficiency vs Perfectionism
Perfectionism = striving for something to be as good as possible, but perfectionism can be a concept that when what you are working on is ceilingless, can mean you strive for an infinite amount of time
Sufficiency = When something meets realistic criteria in order to get a ‘Job To Be Done’ done
A model to build a ‘High Definition Line Of Sufficiency’
The model:
1. Agree upon the Job To Be Done - the direction you are heading
2. Define possible levels of sufficiency - possible places you can stop
3. Agree upon the High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency - agreed high resolution place it makes sense to stop
Visual model
1. Agree upon the Job To Be Done - the direction you are heading
Honestly I find it can often be really quite hard to define a JTBD well. I’m normally constantly updating my thoughts on what the JTBD is. You never stop.
If you have the incorrect JTBD then it’s normally like one is pointed in the wrong direction. Nothing else can matter.
2. Define possible levels of sufficiency - possible places you can stop
This is the main thing this blog is trying to focus on. Building of levels for sufficiency is a core strategy I have to improve resource allocation.
I’ve stopped the visual at L4 arbitrarily, it could technically go on forever.
So the JTBD defines what direction you are going in, then the levels of sufficiency define possible places you can stop.
3. Agree upon the High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency - agreed high resolution place it makes sense to stop
One you have the direction and levels, you can then discuss which level to stop at. Thereby defining a ‘High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency’.
Example of building a ‘High Definition Line Of Sufficiency’
Example 1: What is the right level of sufficiency for the Finance Division of a company?
1. Agree upon the Job To Be Done - the direction you are heading
‘The only mistake you cannot make in a startup is to run out of money.’
I see the core overriding JTBD of the finance division to map out the future to show possible cash low scenarios.
2. Define possible levels of sufficiency - possible places you can stop
L0: No financial model
L1: Accurately calculating financial model to see possible future cash positions
L2: L1 + Current (vs stale) forecasts for cash in and cash out
L3: L2 + Bear, Base and Bull scenarios modelled out
L4: L3 + Strategies to manage through Bear scenario put in a slide deck
L5: L4 + Significant presentation for the board
L6: L5 + Building out sub finance teams for each division
L7: L6 + Building financial literacy in everyone mid level manager or higher and having metrics for them to manage to
3. Agree upon the High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency - agreed high resolution place it makes sense to stop
What makes sense will likely be different for companies of different sizes.
It might well be that L4 is minimum sufficiency for a business of 50 people but that L7 is minimum sufficient for a business of 5,000 people.
Example 2: What is the level to stop product development?
1. Agree upon the Job To Be Done - the direction you are heading
To improve education. But that does this actually mean?
Each product normally has a higher definition articulation of the JTBD. For example ‘Optimal Frist Step = 1. Get to 70%+ market share as fast as possible + 2. While improving education outcomes for 90%+ of schools’.
2. Define possible levels of sufficiency - possible places you can stop
L0: Just improve education
L1: For all existing core areas (eg theory, activities, questions & answers) be the ‘new high water mark’ in market
L2: L1 + Have 2x+ instantly recognisable irrefutable dealmakers
L3: L2 + All core areas have instantly recognisable irrefutable dealmakers
L4: L3 + go beyond doing the existing core areas
3. Agree upon the High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency - agreed high resolution place it makes sense to stop
Edrolo has very hard product deliverable deadlines (the start of a school year). So… finishing a product early isn’t a problem. Finishing a product late is a disaster.
Normally for Edrolo I define sufficiency as “L2: L1 + Have 2x+ instantly recognisable irrefutable dealmakers”. Having some parts of the product jump out at users as ‘wins’ really helps with usage.
Also, we’ll be able to update things in the future. So this is just the starting point!
Example 3: What amount of ‘operations’ do you need for a team?
1. Agree upon the Job To Be Done - the direction you are heading
That you get products done on time above sufficient level of quality in hopefully an enjoyable manner.
2. Define possible levels of sufficiency - possible places you can stop
L0: No operations at all.
L1: Individual team level (bottom up) ops eg with fortnightly report on progress
L2: L1 + ‘Top down’ division wide level monthly report on quality, delivery time expectations and if there is enough resourcing
L3: L2 + Standardised reporting frameworks
L4: L3 + 12 month plan for an operations division
L5: L4 + hiring for the division
L6: L5 + adding upside
3. Agree upon the High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency - agreed high resolution place it makes sense to stop
Everyone has ego distortions and blind spots… and to others our blind spots are often blindingly obvious.
For important areas I think you should get two independent opinions. So for delivery of a major project I’d want the individual team to have a report but also for the division to have a ‘top down’ view on where delivery, quality and resourcing is at. So I’m going to argue that the minimum is L2.
A ‘High Definition Line Of Sufficiency’ allows you to have a conversation
Building the levels of sufficiency allows you to have a discussion around priorities and tradeoffs.
I’ve found it to be such a fantastic tool.
Defining the JTBD well can be really quite difficult. Change the way you look at something, change what you see. So getting alignment around the JTBD is key.
But even then how do you define if you have sufficiently completed the JTBD? One key strategy is to build ‘levels of sufficiency’ and then agree upon a ‘High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency’.
If you only take away one thing
Optimising for sufficiency = Stopping at a reasonable point so you can solve the next problem = Overall delivering max improvement to the world
Without a levels of sufficiency and a chosen line a ‘High Resolution Line Of Sufficiency’ you likely are rudderless.