Look, it slices, it dices!

As a technology supplier, there's always the danger of falling in love with your products more than with your customers. It's understandable because the stuff we got is nothing short of amazing: pre-trained machine learning models - check; fully managed serverless platforms - check; edge computing for IoT - check; 77 availability zones around the globe - check! However, to the customer all those are only meaningful within in their context. So we need to remind ourselves to always start with the customer and work backwards from there. I love metaphors, so I recently explained this danger by comparing it to a cooking show.

Celebrity Chef Drooling

Let's say we want to help our customers cook better food - a noble endeavor. We also know we have many of the right tools to help them do so. Naturally, we want to start with the "art of the possible" - the truly amazing things you could be doing. See, Gordon Ramsey's serverless steak - juicy and elastic! And the late Joel Robuchon, immortalized by his ML-mashed potatoes, would be complemented by Gaston Len?tre's amazing gateau open source.

Your customers, their minds painting a vivid picture of the perfect blend of world's top chefs, are mesmerized and can barely mutter the words "yes, please!"

It Slices, it Dices

Ever so well prepared, you pull out your secret weapon that transforms any home kitchen into a temple of efficiency and scalability:

The customer, having a slight expression of surprise on their face as they see Gordon, Joel, and Gaston slowly fade away, appears less than impressed. No problem! We are well trained in customer conversations, so we recite the slicer's benefits faster than the disclaimers on a radio car ad: it not only slices, it also dices - in 12 different shapes, thanks to replaceable cutter inserts. It opens for easy cleaning and is totally safe to use. You can put it in the dishwasher. It even folds up so you can stow it in your cutlery drawer. And it even comes with a 2 year satisfaction guarantee. And all this for only $19.99 and even less with a multi-year commitment. "Purée De Pomme" the customer mutters in a last attempt to rekindle his visions of the star-cooked magic meal as she's getting a slight headache from the feature bombardment.

The Recipe Book

Noticing that this deal isn't closing as easily as expected (darn, I should have mentioned that the blades are rust free!), our sales consultant quickly switches gears. The slicer comes with a free (!) CAF - the Cooking Adoption Framework! This framework contains a recipe book which breaks every dish down into three simple steps so you can properly envision your meal, scan your fridge for available resources, and deliver cooked meals in no time. Easy as Un-Deux-Trois! N'est-ce pas?

Now that didn't seem to do the trick either... this customer is a tough master negotiator, surely angling for some professional services credits. So be it! The other guys' slicer slices almost as well and it comes in a handy container, so we better not yield any ground. Alright, we'll throw in a free kitchen helper just for you - he'll show you how to properly slice your vegetables.

Now if that doesn't do it, perhaps we need to speak to the Chief Cooking Officer - he'll surely get the bigger picture about what's at stake here! Can't you tell that if you keep cooking manually on the old VmCookWare, you'll soon be displaced by FoodTech companies who offer better food at lower cost? E-x-t-i-n-c-t-i-o-n, people! Don't be a dinosaur! And see how well it does indeed slice... ouch, my finger! Of course, that wouldn't happen in production.

Teaching How to Cook

Well, our tough customer just wants to cook a decent meal. And perhaps the slicer will even help her do that. However, the customer is busy, has a small kitchen, and cooks for an equally busy and demanding family. Sorry, Gordon doesn't cook his steaks here. A cookbook is helpful but it's quite mechanical: you follow simple steps but if it doesn't come out the way you expected, you have no idea what to do about it (and having Joel as a role model only distorts the expectations). Also, your family's favorite dishes might not even be in the cookbook.

You need someone to teach you how to cook: how things are put together; what mixes well and what doesn't; how to control the heat to sear properly and then cook to perfection; how fine to puree the potatoes. That takes more effort but will allow you to solve your problems and properly place the slicer in your context: it's great for potato gratin - a family favorite! And if you place thinly sliced onions between the potato layers it becomes even more flavorful and light. And, yes, the slicer can do that, also!

Cooking Architecture

I have before described architecture as not being about the ingredients but about how things are put together - architects are the chefs, not the ones picking tomatoes.

Joel Robuchon's immortal Purée De Pomme has only four ingredients: potatoes, butter, milk and salt. But he was a creative genius who could turn that into a culinary masterpiece (perhaps he also didn't choose the brush). However, doing so takes a lot more than the right ingredients or even the right tools. It requires insight and, may we say, architecture.

So, help your customers shrink the giant gap between celebrity chef use-case and the slicer tool. They'll be very happy and likely invite you back for dinner. Bon appétit!