Understanding the Unmet Needs Of Steve Smith

The recent ball-tampering controversy in South Africa focuses our attention on a fundamental question - "What were the unmet needs of Steve Smith?". What were the met needs of Steve? What motivated him to do what he did?

We can look at the episode through the lens of needs. The diagram below provides insights into the ANIC model I have described in my book "Unmet Needs of Entrepreneurship" that helps in discovering unmet needs.

Action: Tampering the ball

Q: What will happen if the ball is tampered?

A: We can reverse swing the ball and take quick wickets,

Q: What will happen then?

A: We will have a better chance to win the game.

Q: What will happen if you win the game?

A: I will be recognized as one of the best captains in the world. Someone who has the capability to win games under foreign conditions.

Q: What will happen then?

A: I will command tremendous respect for my leadership skills.

Q: What will that do for you?

A: I will get paid more by advertisers. My brand value will go up.

Q: What will happen if you do not win the game? You are rated the test batsman in the world, isn't it?

A: I want to break the record set by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. I want to be recognized as the best Australian captain ever.

Let me see if I understood you correctly - "The ball was tampered because you thought it will help you win games that meets your need for recognition, achievement, and respect. Recognition for you meant being seen as the best Australian captain with leadership skills who is capable of winning games under any condition; and when this needs of yours are not met, it makes you uncomfortable, disappointed and frustrated. The consequences of meeting these needs would translate into more money through advertising contracts."

The above statement describes the actions, the needs that were unmet, the meaning attached to the needs, the emotions evoked when the needs were not met and the consequences of not meeting the need. The meaning attached to these needs map into the way Steve Smith looked at himself (Identity - "best Aus captain") and the skills required to meet the need ("Leadership skills under adverse conditions"). The consequences of meeting these needs translated into a specific resource/behaviour ("money") and not having this resource could have negative consequences for Steve as he saw it. Also, he used the strategy of employing a tape to execute the ball tampering action!!

Clearly, there is no problem with meeting his need for recognition, respect or achievement. The issue lay with the way he interpreted these needs and the action taken by him to meet those needs. In our daily lives, we often wish to meet some of our genuine needs but employ the wrong strategies to meet them. This can also be attributed to the way we interpret the needs at a given moment.

When a thief robs a bank, we focus our attention on the behaviour / action but often do not step back to think what needs of the thief gets met by robbing the bank? We react to the behaviour. The thief perhaps robbed the bank to meet his need for financial security but deployed a strategy ("rob a bank") that had negative consequences.

So, how does this understanding help someone? Well, had Steve been aware of his unmet needs and the various choices available to meet those needs, he would have perhaps thought through this and said NO to ball tampering. The awareness could have thrown open other interesting choices to win the game.

To understand your customer and discover various elements of a customer's needs, the ANIC model mapped into logical levels can provide you with interesting insights. You can find more details in my book.

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