This is a very, very good illustration of disruption. Everyone should read it.
I’ve been a salesman before. I have been a door to door salesman as well as a national one via phones. Very tough job. But you get a feel for what the customers are wanting since you have to talk and interact with them everyday.
I think that is a big reason why many developers and company heads get so disconnected. It is human nature to not want to deal with people you don’t want to deal with. And who wants to talk to the customers?
There is a computer back-up company named Carbonite that is selling extremely well with very high profits despite the recession. One thing I heard that was being done was that the heads of the company, the vice presidents, were obligated to be on the customer service phones for at least an hour once a week. This, perhaps, is a big reason to their success. By forcing them to talk to customers, they see customers as people and not just numbers on a page. It humbles them to realize that these customers are their bosses. It is a very different impact to see customers complaining about something listed on your survey as opposed to actually hear them complain to you.
I think the salesmen and marketing guys are in contact with the consumers more which is why they tend to know what they want.
Note how the article gives a shout about Human Nature? You’re not designing products for androids but flesh and blood humans.
Crappy products for non-customers! That is the disruption way! Fantastic article.
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