From The Experience Economy to The Transformation Economy / Joe Pine / Ep. #246

2026-02-03

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A few months ago I finally hit a major milestone...After years of putting it off, I finally started taking golf lessons.Jasper, my coach (or "pro" as they say in the golf world), has been helping me develop a proper swing. But being me, I just can't help but look at Jasper through a service design lens.What is he actually selling me? Or better yet: what am I actually buying?Right now, I pay by the hour. That buys me Jasper’s time and a bit of grass to practice on. But what if I didn’t pay for the service, which is just tim...

A few months ago I finally hit a major milestone...

After years of putting it off, I finally started taking golf lessons.

Jasper, my coach (or "pro" as they say in the golf world), has been helping me develop a proper swing. But being me, I just can't help but look at Jasper through a service design lens.

What is he actually selling me? Or better yet: what am I actually buying?

Right now, I pay by the hour. That buys me Jasper’s time and a bit of grass to practice on.

But what if I didn’t pay for the service, which is just time well saved, but rather for the outcome?

What if Jasper promised to take me from someone who barely knows how to hold a club to being a confident, competent golfer?

Because in the end, that’s truly the identity shift I’m actually looking for.

Just think about how much that proposition would change the dynamics, not just for me, but for Jasper’s entire business model.

When that offer is on the table, why would I ever settle for a coach selling me "practice time" (a commodity) when I could invest in the transformation I actually desire?

This shift toward "transformations" as an economic offering isn't new.

It was already described in the industry defining book The Experience Economy back in 1999.

We’ve been lucky enough to have Joe Pine, the book’s co-author, on the Show twice before. Now, he’s back.

It’s been 27 years since he published the book that influenced so many of us, and he has just published the long-awaited follow-up titled, you guessed it, The Transformation Economy.

In this episode, we sit down to chat about what this shift means for us as service design professionals and what it means for the future of business.

I’m fairly certain this is the very first podcast where Joe discusses the new book, so we’ve got a true exclusive on our hands.

So will this be the next chapter for our field? Listen to the episode to find out!

As you listen to the conversation, I’d love for you to think about your own projects. Are you designing for "time well spent," or are you ready to guide your customers through a real identity shift?

Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 246

04:45 Why the book is still relevant

06:15 Progression of Economic Value

11:00 Defining economic offerings

13:00 Birth of the Transformation Economy

17:30 Experience vs. Transformation

20:30 Focusing on the "Aspirant"

22:00 Time Saved vs. Time Well Spent