The customer only knows what she thinks she wants based on her experience with the current product. The innovator can take into account everything th… - Ben Horowitz

The customer only knows what she thinks she wants based on her experience with the current product.

If we could improve in any way, how would we do it?  What’s the number-one problem with our organization? Why?  What’s not fun about working here?  Who is really kicking ass in the company? Whom do you admire?  If you were me, what changes would you make?  What don’t you like about the product?  What’s the biggest opportunity that we’re missing out on?  What are we not doing that we should be doing?  Are you happy working here?

beware of management maxims that stop information from flowing freely in your company. For example, consider the old management standard: “Don’t bring me a problem without bringing me a solution.” What if the employee cannot solve an important problem? For example, what if an engineer identifies a serious flaw in the way the product is being marketed? Do you really want him to bury that information? Management truisms like these may be good for employees to aspire to in the abstract, but they can also be the enemy of free-flowing information — which may be critical for the health of the company.

Andy explained that humans, particularly those who build things, only listen to leading indicators of good news. For example, if a CEO hears that engagement for her application increased an incremental 25 percent beyond the normal growth rate one month, she will be off to the races hiring more engineers to keep up with the impending tidal wave of demand. On the other hand, if engagement decreases 25 percent, she will be equally intense and urgent in explaining it away: “The site was slow that month, there were four holidays, and we made a UI change that caused all the problems. For gosh sakes, let’s not panic!