Introduction: Aligning Urgency and Trust in Startup Pilots—Lessons from Medicine

In the realm of health tech innovation, running successful pilots can be akin to delivering effective patient care. Just as a physician must build trust and thoroughly understand a patient's needs before recommending a treatment plan, technology innovators must align their urgency with that of their customers to drive successful pilot outcomes.

The Problem: Prospective Customers Don't Share Your Sense of Urgency

A common challenge in running technology pilots is that your customers may not share your sense of urgency. While the success of your pilot is critical to your startup’s future, it might not carry the same weight for your customers. This misalignment can lead to waning motivation and reduced engagement, jeopardising your pilot's success. Recent research by Schmidt and Eickelmann (2022) highlights how this disconnect in perceived urgency can undermine pilot effectiveness and suggests strategies to better align stakeholder priorities.

In healthcare, physicians often face a similar challenge when proposing new treatments. They must ensure that their patients understand the importance of adhering to a treatment plan and the potential consequences of non-adherence (Bensing et al., 2013). This principle applies equally to technology pilots. You need to structure your pilot in a way that resonates with your customer’s priorities and motivations.

A Thorough Needs Assessment: 3 Steps to Better Align Urgency

1. Conduct a Thorough Needs Assessment: Understand Before Proposing

In healthcare, physicians build trust by understanding a patient’s ideas, concerns, and expectations before suggesting a treatment plan. Similarly, in technology pilots the following are important:

• Assess the Situation: Delve deeply into your customer’s operational challenges and objectives. Research into physician-patient communication (Frankel et al., 2003) underscores the importance of understanding in fostering trust and relevance. This approach parallels the importance of comprehensive needs assessment in pilot programs as noted by Liedtka and Ogilvie (2011).
• Identify the Problem: Pinpoint the core issue your technology addresses. This should align with the customer’s strategic goals, akin to how physicians tailor treatments based on precise diagnoses (Vincent, 2004). Recent work by Brown and Wyatt (2010) emphasises the need for clear problem definition to ensure pilot success.

2. Build Trust and Engagement: Involve Decision Makers and Influence Attitudes

Physicians know that trust and rapport are not solely limited to patients themselves but important family members and carers to ensure longterm adherence to treatment plans. This principle translates to technology pilots:

• Engage Key Stakeholders: Effective communication with all relevant parties within a healthcare setting often results in better outcomes (Hall et al., 2002). Involve key decision-makers early to secure their buy-in and understanding. Research by Anderson et al. (2019) highlights that early stakeholder engagement enhances project outcomes in technology settings.
• Address Psychological Barriers: Just as physicians address emotional and psychological barriers to adherence (Fink et al., 2006), tackle any resistance or concerns from your customers to enhance pilot engagement and success. Studies by Rogers (2003) on innovation adoption stress the importance of addressing these barriers to improve acceptance.

3. Emphasise the Urgency and Stakes: Use Psychological Insights to Drive Action

In healthcare, highlighting the risks of non-adherence can motivate patients to carefully follow their treatment plans. Again, the same logic and insight can apply to your technology pilots:

• Uncover and Quantify Negative Impact: Discuss the negative impacts of inaction just as physicians outline the risks of untreated conditions to motivate patients. Research by Kahneman and Tversky (1979) on loss aversion demonstrates that potential losses often drive stronger motivation than potential gains. This principle is also supported by recent findings from the field of consumer psychology (Sweeny et al., 2019).
• Establish Critical Events: Just as setting deadlines for follow-up appointments creates urgency in healthcare, align your pilot with critical events in your customer’s timeline. This creates a shared sense of urgency and commitment. Recent studies on project management (Müller & Turner, 2010) emphasize the role of critical milestones in maintaining project momentum.

Mnemonic for Success: SPICED for Effective Pilots

The following is a helpful mnemonic to guide your pilot's processes:

• S: Assess the Situation — Understand the customer’s context and needs.
• P: Identify the Problem — Clearly define the core issue your technology addresses.
• I: Explore Negative Impact — Quantify the consequences of not solving the problem.
• CE: Establish a Critical Event — Align the pilot with key deadlines and milestones.
• D: Quantify the Desired Outcome — Define what success looks like for both parties.

By applying these healthcare-inspired strategies to your technology pilots, you can enhance engagement, build trust, and drive successful outcomes, ensuring that your innovation resonates as effectively as a well-considered treatment plan. This is especially important when dealing with groups of health professionals and their patient cohorts. By taking the time to understand their ideas, concerns and expectations before presenting your pilot's process, you can guarantee longterm buy-in and respect, whilst bridging the all important urgency gap.

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