Years ago when I was in a sales job I learned an important trick to being effective. It wasn’t enough to solve a problem for a client, it was more important to offer a solution which they saw as most effective. I needed to look at the world through their eyes and see things from their perspective to deliver what they wanted to buy. At MAKE’s Hardware Innovation Workshop last month, Robert Faludi, collaborative strategy leader at Digi International, points out how my ambitions fell short of an even higher goal which results from liking the guest.
When we innovate with hardware we’re often solving a problem. You can simply solve it. You can solve it well with effective and efficient design. Or you can solve it well in a way that delights the customer. Think about a products you feel engaged with. Coffee from Starbucks. Computers from Apple. Clothing from Nordstrom. These are products from companies who engage customers while providing a product. This comes from not only looking at a problem through the customer’s eyes, but liking that customer and striving to delight them.
With Walt Disney as his source of his epiphany, Robert explains the importance of this viewpoint in doing what we do. Watch and learn.
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