Learn from the market, not people

The market is your greatest teacher.

Not the books you read.

Not the videos you watch.

Not the mentor(s) you follow.

And here’s why - 

The point of any business is to help people achieve their desires. THEIR desires, not YOURS.

The entire company (read business) exists because people are willing to PAY to help fulfill their desires.

Every role/function in the company primarily exists to serve the end customer. 

No customer, No business.

Hence, every role/function must start with a detailed understanding of the customer/user. 

If everyone in the company is customer/user-focused, then the company is bound to do well. See Amazon for example – they aim to be the most customer-centric company in the world.

And by doing so, they are building trust and creating immense value. Shopify is doing the same, and thus, their stock price skyrocketed in the last 5 years.  

This can be seen in any job role/function too:

The marketer who deeply understands the consumer and how they behave will always perform better.

The UI/UX designer who can empathize with users will be creating delightful experiences rather than the designer following a bunch of design rules/standards. 

The content creator who creates content keeping the consumer’s needs and interests in mind does much better.

Ultimately, there are two ways to work -

You can either work to please your boss/investors but that will only take you so far.

Or you can shift your focus to the real GOD – the consumers and keep your eyes and ears open for insights from them.

The lessons you learn from them will be your competitive advantage.