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A few years ago, I had never heard of this term.
Now I think about it all the time.
Productization.
The method in which a service is commoditized and turned into a repeatable solution for a set price.
It doesn't quite sound like the healing that takes place during therapy.
Or does it?
Because therapy shouldn't always be the go-to option.
I believe there's more that we can do to get people the care they need.
Let's learn what productization is and how it can be applied to mental health care.
Business Productization Meets Mental Health Care
Enter productization.
It's a fancy business term that often gets thrown about so much it becomes meaningless.
You'll hear it a lot in entrepreneurial circles:
"Man you gotta productize your services!"
"Have you tried productization? It's the only way."
It reminds me of the peer pressure of high school.
But it's much more than a fancy term--it's also a method for transforming a service in a way that it becomes marketable and repeatable.
And repeatability is the key here.
A few questions for you:
How often have you experienced or heard a story of someone who needed to get help for mental health and they had to jump through approximately 48 hoops to find a good therapist who just happened to be covered by their insurance--if they were fortunate enough to have insurance at all?
How often have you experienced or heard of someone who faced a difficult mental health issue and literally had no idea what to do or where to turn?
This is where productization comes in.
Productizing and Standardizing the Untouchable
Now, what I'm about to describe for you might seem incredibly suspicious--and maybe even offensive--but I want you to suspend your judgment for a few seconds.
Two more questions:
Instead of searching through the fog for a therapist who may or may not be any good, what if you could search through a database of personal practices and checklists developed by other people?
What if, instead of wishy-washy, over-priced advice, you could scan a list of reasonably priced standard operating procedures that list out, in detail, practical methods to follow?
But that's not how mental health works.
That's too impersonal.
That's too...blankety blank.
I can hear the naysayers howling already (parts of my pea brain included).
But why couldn't it work?
People pay for all kinds of productized services for other types of health, whether it's for their physical health or their financial health.
Mr. Tae Bo had a method for your physical wellbeing.
Turbo Tax has one for your financial.
The examples are out there for all other areas of your life--and they are endless.
Part of the problem with getting people the mental health care they need is that we are too scared to talk about potential solutions.
It still is a topic that is untouchable, or, at the very least, touchable by only a select few gatekeepers.
It's time to change that.
We have checklists, eating plans, workout routines, and a whole host of other practical resources for all other areas of our life.
Why couldn't we do the same for mental health?
What do you think of this idea? Would you go for a database of practical mental health resources? Would you like to apply step-based ideas to your own life, or do you think mental health is an area that just needs to be left to the experts to tell you what to do in a way that suits them best?
I'd love to know what you think!
It's Monday, and you know what that means. It's the start of another week.
Rather than sulk your way into another week, what if you spring-boarded yourself into the future you know you deserve?
Take ONE action toward your biggest goal this week.
Don't have a goal? This week can be the week to set it.
