Apple is famous for not engaging in the focus-grouping that defines most business product and marketing strategy, which is partly why Apple products and advertising are so insanely great. They have the courage to stand by their own convictions instead of following the whims of everyone else. On the subject, Steve Jobs loves to quote Henry Ford who once said that if he had asked people what they wanted they would have said "a faster horse."

Focus groups are all about reference points. Make it more like this, less like that. Whether it's business, social business, or charity, breakthroughs are defined by the absence of reference points, and leadership is defined by the courage to leave all of the reference points behind.

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Imagine if they focus-grouped the iPhone:
"Can't you have a physical keyboard that slides out of the back, like all of the other phones?"

Imagine if they focus-grouped Disneyland:
"Can't you make it so I can see everything in a day?"

Imagine if the focus-grouped the Apollo program:
"I think the goal should be 20 years instead of 10."

Imagine if they focus-grouped any of the things that really inspire us. Imagine if they put all of the comfortable reference points back in for us.

Take people to the places where there are no reference points, and leave the focus groups — and the competition — behind.

Conversations and buzz are giving us a huge opportunity to take a step forward, for the 1st time we can listen to people, just as if we were in a bar, and learn about their needs and their life... we have to re-think our marketing model:
- starting to listen and not to push
- starting in R&D and not simply in Leads and Sales
- starting to keep in touch (real) manager and people