Purpose > Function Practice Test

Many towns treat climate resilience as a matter of better prediction: update flood maps, refine storm models, and publish alerts. Those steps are necessary, planners agree, but they are insufficient on their own. Last spring, despite precise river forecasts, Millford's neighborhoods flooded when pump stations stalled during a routine power outage. The town had planned for rising water but not for the failure of the systems meant to move it. Effective resilience, then, includes redundant infrastructure, training for emergency crews, and clear evacuation routes. Without such measures, new maps do little more than describe where damage will occur.

Two years after launching, our company had users but no profit. We had designed a smart thermostat to sell at a low margin, hoping to earn revenue from data analytics. The plan faltered: utilities were slow to partner, and support tickets multiplied. So we stopped trying to monetize data and reimagined the product as a service that guarantees lower bills. Customers now subscribe to a package: installation, maintenance, and monthly optimization updates. The physical device matters less than the ongoing performance. The switch clarified what we offer and aligned our incentives with those of our customers.