The individuals best positioned to solve a particular customer problem often fail because they begin with their product and work backward to a solution.
There are many reasons this happens, but here are a few that come to mind:
1. Sunk cost: “We have already invested in 3,000 hammers; find us more nails.”
2. A fetishized view of the product: “our product is the best one on the market. Why can’t the customers see that?”
3. The assumption that customers are stupid: “I can’t believe they currently do things this way. They have a lot of learning to do. When they get smarter, they’ll buy our product.”
Don’t let your product sink to the level of a one-size-fits-all commodity. Don’t allow yourself to be pulled into a competition with every other player in your space. Don’t answer the call of perpetual mediocrity.
Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers.