Is Your Glass Half-full?
As an entrepreneur, what should you fear most? Running out of cash; lacking a business model; or having poor marketing?
Those are deadly for sure. But, according to research,* only one other rivals “running out of cash” as the #1 reason startups fail.
The #2 culprit for startup failure: create a solution that looks for a problem. In other words, the customer is not interested in your precious solution.
Ok, you’re not in a startup. What does this mean to you and your business?
If “no market need” can be fatal for a newbie, then it can certainly stunt your established growth. Or worse.
Using a process of See, Solve, and Story to define your product process, resist the temptation to jump to “Solve” the problem.
Instead, visualize a metaphor of three empty glasses. Invest the time filling your first glass (See) with deep customer insights. Find their motivation. Find their problem that needs solving. Distill this into a brief.
This will transfer to your second glass (Solve). Which will then fill the final glass (Story).
This may feel like it slows the process. Or that you don’t have the time.
Yet, I’ve found this to quicken the process downstream. And it produces a more satisfying product experience and story to tell at the end.
