This is a transcript of a James Dyson podcast in todays (UK) times.
Dyson touted his idea to all the major companies, run by marketeers, and they laughed at him. So he set up his own company and the rest is history.
If you are an engineer this will ring so true to you.
One reason why I love apple as Steve Jobs doesn't rely on market research but gut instinct and good design and engineering.
This is just one small gem in it:
"In many British businesses, the engineer sits way down the food chain. Meanwhile, much further up, is the marketing team. Marketeers have become immensely powerful in influencing what new products should be built, and what features they should include.
One reason for the ascent of the marketeer, is that their recommendations are usually based on evidence, good, earnestly gathered evidence – of what sells, and what does not. Armed with these insights into people’s behaviour, the marketing director becomes the arbiter of what sells. Sounds good? Well, I’ve no problem with market research based on evidence. But too great a swing in power from the engineer to the marketing man would create a static society. Why? Because the reality is, they are arbiters of what has been selling, not of the unknown breakthrough yet to be invented. That’s where the inventor comes in. The genius of the design engineer is his or her ability to think the unimaginable, and then go ahead and do it, even if potential customers expect something more familiar. "
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/related_reports/business_ideas/article3191051.ece
Dyson touted his idea to all the major companies, run by marketeers, and they laughed at him. So he set up his own company and the rest is history.
If you are an engineer this will ring so true to you.
One reason why I love apple as Steve Jobs doesn't rely on market research but gut instinct and good design and engineering.
This is just one small gem in it:
"In many British businesses, the engineer sits way down the food chain. Meanwhile, much further up, is the marketing team. Marketeers have become immensely powerful in influencing what new products should be built, and what features they should include.
One reason for the ascent of the marketeer, is that their recommendations are usually based on evidence, good, earnestly gathered evidence – of what sells, and what does not. Armed with these insights into people’s behaviour, the marketing director becomes the arbiter of what sells. Sounds good? Well, I’ve no problem with market research based on evidence. But too great a swing in power from the engineer to the marketing man would create a static society. Why? Because the reality is, they are arbiters of what has been selling, not of the unknown breakthrough yet to be invented. That’s where the inventor comes in. The genius of the design engineer is his or her ability to think the unimaginable, and then go ahead and do it, even if potential customers expect something more familiar. "
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/related_reports/business_ideas/article3191051.ece
