1. LEARNING TO
BUILD
five bedrock skills
of innovators &
entrepreneurs
Bob Moesta
Founder & CEO - The Re-Wired Group
Adjunct Lecturer – The Kellogg School of
Management
@ Northwestern University
© Bob Moesta 2022

2. Innovators & Entrepreneurs I have
worked with (My Mentors)
© Bob Moesta 2022

3. 35 Years of
Notebooks on
Innovation &
Creating Things
© Bob Moesta 2022

4. Learning to Build:
5 Bedrock Skills of Innovators and Entrepreneurs
© Bob Moesta 2022
Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Dr. Genichi Taguchi
Dr. Willie Hobbs Moore
Dr. Clayton Christensen

5. The Five Skills of Innovators and
Entrepreneurs
Prototyping to Learn
Causal Structures Making Tradeoffs
Uncovering Demand
Empathetic Perspective
© Bob Moesta 2022

6. EMPATHETIC
PERSPECTIVE
© Bob Moesta 2022

7. Empathetic
Perspective:
How To See
The World
© Bob Moesta 2022

8. UNCOVERING
DEMAND
© Bob Moesta 2022

9. Uncovering
Demand:
How People
Work
© Bob Moesta 2022

10. Two Interdependent Systems
© Bob Moesta 2022

11. SUPPLY Vs. DEMAND
© Bob Moesta 2022

12. Progress is Caused:
JTBD Forces of Progress
A
(The Old Way)
B
(The New Way)
© Bob Moesta 2022

13. Unpacking The layers of language
Pablum Layer of Conversation
(Frustrated, Broken, Easy, Fast, etc.)
Fantasy Layer of Conversation
(Solutions, Features, etc.)
Causal Layer of Conversation
(Who, When, Where, Why, etc.)
More Abstract
More Concrete/Specific
Jobs to Be Done
The Pathways to Progress
© Bob Moesta 2022

14. CAUSAL
STRUCTURES
© Bob Moesta 2022

15. Causal
Structures:
How Things
Work
© Bob Moesta 2022

16. Understanding Systems
© Bob Moesta 2022

17. Systems through the Lens of Supply and Demand
© Bob Moesta 2022

18. USING RIGHT TO LEFT THINKING TO CREATE
© Bob Moesta 2022

19. PROTOTYPING
TO LEARN
© Bob Moesta 2022

20. Prototyping
to learn:
How to
Learn
© Bob Moesta 2022

21. Red-Line Development - Proving
© Bob Moesta 2022

22. Red-Line Projects – Supply Side + Simplistic
2 © The Re-Wired Group 2023

23. DESIGN CHANGES ARE COSTLY!
© Bob Moesta 2022

24. Green Line Development - Learning
© Bob Moesta 2022

25. Green-Line Projects – Struggling Moments + Proactive
2 © The Re-Wired Group 2023

26. © Bob Moesta 2022
Divergent & Convergent Thinking

27. Identifying &
Making Tradeoffs
© Bob Moesta 2022

28. How do you choose what not to do?
You cannot do it all!
© Bob Moesta 2022

29. © Bob Moesta 2022
Consider Your customer

30. Jobs-to-Be-Done
Methods
Drivers of Successful New Innovations
© The Re-Wired Group 2023

31. Applying the Five
Skills:
A Case Study
© Bob Moesta 2022

32. Ryan Singer – The Writing of “Shape-up”
© Bob Moesta 2022

33. © Bob Moesta 2022

34. © Bob Moesta 2022

35. JTBD Interviews
– Why Come?
© Bob Moesta 2022

36. Shaping, Betting and Building
© Bob Moesta 2022

37. © Bob Moesta 2022

38. https://basecamp.com/shapeup
© Bob Moesta 2022

39. HOW DID RYAN DO?
+345,000 Unique Visitors in less than 90 days
+ 10,000 Downloads in the last 30 days
All with no marketing.
Make PDF Available
© Bob Moesta 2022

40. The Five Skills of Innovators and
Entrepreneurs
Prototyping to Learn
Causal Structures Making Tradeoffs
Uncovering Demand
Empathetic Perspective
© Bob Moesta 2022

41. © Bob Moesta 2022
Cause & Effect – (5 W’s & 2 H’s)
(Who, What, When, Where, Why, How & How much?)
What, How and How Much
(Business Model, Technology and Operations)
Who, When, Where & Why
(Progress = Context & Outcomes)
Design Requirements
System Requirements
Prototyping to Learn
Causal Structures
Making Tradeoffs
Uncovering Demand
Empathetic Perspective