There’s a lot being done in behavioral economics…it attempts to explain things like why you won’t use a $2 app but you’ll spend $30 to go 6 blocks.
This is a great article that talks about customer development from a technology point of view, but I think it’s applicable to lots of situations. Some of the mistakes they talk about:
- Confirmation Bias: when you focus only on feedback that backs up what you already think and you discount everything else.
- Hindsight Bias: forgetting all the failures when you have a success, and getting arrogant because of it.
- Supportive Bias: justifying the decision because you already made the decision (invested money, spent time)
The article struck me because I see a lot of this happening just as part of the day to day life. It’s important to try and ask the right questions in order to get to the truth. And then it’s important to share the truth….I love this quote about using stories:
“Stories are shareable and lend clarity. They contextualize data in a way everyone can understand and rally behind. Generally, people are ok with pivots if they understand the impetus.”
With presentations, I remember the stories people tell….I don’t remember random facts and figures. Trying to boil down complicated issues to simple answers is blunt force. Some examples:
Rather than:”Why are you leaving the firm?”
Try: “When did you first start thinking about leaving the firm?”
Rather than: “We’ve created this technology/application/new thing. What do you think?”
Try: “What do you see this xxx doing better than what you do now? What would you hate or dread if someone told you that this xxx was coming?”
It’s so easy to fall in love with something you’ve created/believe in. But too often, we see situations that I call ” a solution in search of a problem.”