EIDU is a startup that helps preschool kids learn math and English. Each week I chat with development team leaders in the organization. We talk about how their work is going, which their next steps are, and such.
The research
Some weeks ago I wanted to investigate which value these 1-on-1s provide. I also want to give better service – this was an opportunity to make a big iteration.
Over the last few months I have worked with 7 persons at EIDU. Now I interviewed them about their experience of our interactions. For each of the 17 projects I have worked on we discussed which difference I have made. We also touched on ways I have helped outside of projects. I asked each person what i should start/continue/stop doing. I also asked them to quantify my contribution.
Services
From talking to my colleagues I understood that I help them make good choices in three ways:
- I help my colleagues think about their projects’ goal and their plans.
- I share my knowledge of methods for design and product development.
- By listening to many groups in the company I get a lot of info about the org. I then share this info with those who don’t already have it.
In future posts I will dig in to these services and how my service delivery should change.
Value
My biggest insight came when I asked my colleagues to quantify the value of what I do. It became utterly clear that it’s not possible.
Talking about saved time or increased efficiency or better ideation was pointless since the interactions are qualitative. I don’t conduct A/B experiments on my colleagues. No, I work in a unique way with each person, with specific qualitative goals.
The value of what I do can not be quantified. Quite a finding!
But I also realized that I do three valuable things: I help team leaders reflect on their process and connect their work to goals, I help them conduct activities well, and I share relevant information.
