True Story of Building Ironman’s Helmet for U.S. Army using Silicon Valley’s Lean Launchpad/Lean Startup Method

The story of Rocky’s work at The Stanford Graduate School of Business, where, mentored by Steve Blank (father of modern entrepreneurship) and in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Defense, Rocky led a team charged with building Ironman’s helmet in real life in order to disable bombs remotely. Rocky’s use of Steve Blank’s Lean Launchpad and Eric Ries’ Lean Startup methodologies makes this project a perfect model for public sector organizations. And his pioneering use of the Mission Model Canvas that Steve Blank developed with Alex Osterwalder— in which the goal of an organization is to achieve a mission, not a profit—sets Solving Problems That Matter apart.

In a world where companies must now create meaning for customers as much as they create profits for themselves, this will be the new model for public sector professionals and make companies better able to compete on mission as well as on product

Product Details

Target Audience/Readers

Solving Problems That Matter will appeal to several audiences.

  • Public sector professionals looking to leverage Silicon Valley’s proven & newly formed methodologies transformed for public sector such as Lean launchpad, Lean Startup, Mission Model Canvas and 12 P’s of Product Management.
  • Entrepreneurs looking to leverage the Lean launchpad methodology as described in Steve Blank’s books, the Lean startup methodology as described in Eric Ries’s The Lean Startup, and Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas books while also doing something more than simply making money
  • Nonprofit and government leaders, who must operate with a lean budget and who are inherently mission-oriented.
  • Product managers and entrepreneurs, who know their companies need to do better because that’s what customers are looking for and that’s what will strengthen their images.
  • Professors and students at the 300 universities worldwide that teach the Lean Launchpad course
  • Mission Model Canvas: What sets this book apart from other Lean/product management books is that Mission Model Canvas that Steve developed with Alex Osterwalder, author of the classic Business Model Canvas, making Rocky the methodology’s first practitioner on how to run an organization when the goal is mission-driven, not for profit.
  • 12P’s of Product Management: The book will guide readers through what Rocky calls “the 12 P’s of product management,” through his team’s experienced learning from Problem (what you need to solve) and Preview (bringing in more stakeholders) to Product Market Fit (market feedback that leads to growth) and Profession (adapting what you learn to other projects). It will lay out raw, uncensored notes with the U.S. Department of Defense’s permission, a first in the product management world; discovery, emotions and feedback as work evolved; pivots and lessons learned; and particular action steps, such as working with bomb explosives experts across the globe.
  • Real-World Applications: It will also include Steve’s weekly guidance to the team, a unique feature for a Lean book, and the original tools, graphics and templates that were employed. All this will put readers deep in the mix of how products are actually created and show them what questions to ask and what challenges to expect—especially if they’re working on a tight timeline.
  • Plain Language: Complex concepts are explained clearly, making them accessible to both newcomers and seasoned professionals.
  • Comprehensive Content: With over 300 pages of detailed information, this book serves as an extensive resource for your strategic procurement needs.
  • Digital Accessibility: Available in Paperback and Kindle format for convenient, on-the-go learning.

About the Author

Rocky is a two-time CEO and three-time Head of Product Management (digital products). He has worked at Fortune 500s, startups, and scale-up organizations such as Home Depot (Supply), BuildDirect (eCommerce) leading products up to $1.3 billion in revenue. Currently he’s an Investor at a long-established company that focuses on public sector.

 

On a volunteer basis, he also serves as CEO at an established non-profit organization in Silicon Valley focused on education. Rocky has also taught product management to beginners, experts, and executives spread across 33 countries through a prominent Silicon Valley based company called Product School. He has a full-time management degree from Stanford University. Rocky is an avid marathon runner and an amateur boxer.

What Readers Are Saying

An insider's look at the national class that's changed how national security problems are solved
  • Steve Blank, the father of modern entrepreneurship and the author of the classics The Four Steps to the Epiphany and The Startup Owner’s Manual
  • —Alex Osterwalder, CEO and Founder of Strategyzer, inventor of the Business Model Canvas, and author of Business Model Generation, whose five books have sold more than 2 million copies in 40 languages.
  • they put their altruistic intentions ahead of their benefactors needs. They end up floundering, and barely touching their mission after years of slogging. Rocky's breaking that mold by pioneering non-profit customer centricity. He's not only improving acquisition, satisfaction and retention—he's saving peoples’ lives.”—Alan Smith, Co-founder of Strategyzer

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