From government agencies to tech startups, "outcomes" have become the buzzword of modern work. Teams reorganize around them. Strategies are built on them. Leaders declare them. And yet real results still slip away. Products fail, customers churn, initiatives stall-not because people aren't working hard enough, but because the way we think about outcomes is broken.
Outcome System Result (OSR): How System-Based Outcomes Become the Building Blocks for Modern AI-Enabled Teams introduces a new causal architecture for understanding and sustaining outcomes in a world increasingly shaped by AI agents, complex feedback loops, and accelerating change.
Drawing on decades of systems thinking, organizational design, and practical case studies, OSR reveals:
- Why most organizations confuse targets, features, and business metrics for outcomes-and what's lost in the process.
- How customer value is the true foundation of outcomes, and why the gap between what customers expect and what they actually experience determines success or failure.
- Why teams must move beyond linear thinking and manage outcomes as results of living systems-interacting stocks, flows, and feedback loops.
- A five-tiered structure for building outcomes that don't just happen once, but accumulate and endure.
- A lens for tracking transformation through BACKS-the five domains where value changes: Behavior, Attitude, Condition, Knowledge, and Status.
More than a framework, OSR is a meta-language for making visible the forces that shape progress. It equips leaders, operators, and builders to design for accumulation, not just activity-and to ensure that value doesn't just flow, but lasts.
Adam McCombs is a technology executive, educator, and product innovator with more than 20 years of experience scaling SaaS companies and leading cross-functional teams at the intersection of AI, software, and operations. Based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, he has a proven record of translating complex technology into outcome-driven solutions for organizations of all sizes.
A Minnesota native, Adam earned his undergraduate degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He began his career as a Senior Product Manager at Cisco Systems before founding JumpForward, a SaaS startup that transformed recruiting and compliance workflows in collegiate athletics. As CEO for over eight years, he guided the company from inception through its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners in 2016.
Adam went on to serve as Chief Product Officer at Livly, LINQ, Vantaca, and the Center for Internet Security (CIS), directing strategy for products and services used by governments and critical infrastructure worldwide.
Passionate about education, Adam taught Management Information Systems as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and, in 2024, launched the course Prompt Engineering for Business Professionals, which earned a 4.9 out of 5 rating.
Today, as CEO of Livly, Adam is redefining property management technology through AI-powered Resident Operations, streamlining fragmented tech stacks and unifying resident and staff experiences across the multifamily industry.
Robert M. Penna, Ph.D. is a nationally recognized expert on nonprofit performance and outcomes measurement. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, Robert has spent decades helping organizations translate mission into measurable, sustainable impact. His career spans public service, international consulting, and thought leadership in the outcomes space.
A native of the Bronx, Robert earned his Ph.D. from Boston University and went on to serve in senior roles with the New York State Senate for 13 years. Following his time in government, he became a trusted advisor to nonprofit organizations worldwide, including a five-year tenure with Charity Navigator-America's leading nonprofit evaluator-and as an outcomes consultant for the World Scout Bureau.
Robert's work has reached global institutions such as the United Nations, where he led a team that developed a prototype for the UN's Programme Performance Report. He is also the author of two widely respected books: The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox, an award-winning guide to outcomes measurement in the sector, and Braided Threads, a historical overview of the American nonprofit movement.
Today, Robert resides in Wilmington with his wife Elise. He remains deeply engaged in the local community, contributing op-eds to the Wilmington Star-News and serving as a merit badge counselor for the Cape Fear Council of the Boy Scouts of America. His insights continue to shape how mission-driven organizations define, track, and achieve outcomes that matter.
