Don't you hate when that happens!?!

You invest a lot of time and money into a new business model, an innovative product concept, an exciting promotional campaign. Then you try to sell it. And it doesn't work. Customers fundamentally tell you - directly or indirectly - that you're wrong. Now customers are not always right (that's the subject of a forthcoming blog entry), but disagreement with you is NOT a good reason to dismiss their perspective. That's not your business savvy getting in the way, it's your ego. 

I was meeting with a very bright and seasoned CEO recently who, after describing his company's downturn in winning sales, exclaimed about his sales prospects: "They just don't get it!" Now he could have labored on about how it's all the customers fault, how can they not understand, etc. But he knew better than to go there. Instead he humbled himself and said, "We must be doing something wrong." Then we proceeded to talk about how they could better understand the customer's multiple perspectives and apply those insights to improve their value proposition and win sales.

In our work with business leaders, we recommend imagining the customer is in the room with you at all times, especially during difficult business decisions. I'm giving a talk on this on December 7th at University of San Diego called "Why customers should run your company." Would love to see you there and hear your thoughts if you're in town!