Our experience tricks us into thinking we understand the problem before we gather the facts. We function by generalizing: “We’ve walked this road before. We know where it goes.” But it can also backfire.
Just yesterday, my wife warned me to be careful of the veggies steaming on the grill. I waved her off. I am well aware of opening a sealed tinfoil container on the grill and the inevitable burst of steam. It was only when I saw her laughing and rolling her eyes with a friend that I sensed something was wrong. Sheepishly poking my head back in the house, I learned that the foil wasn’t sealed well and if I tried to move it, it would fall apart.
My expertise got in the way of uncovering the real problem
Also last week, a new customer told us that we didn’t need to go through our discovery process with their marketplace. They already diagnosed the problem. I’ve learned long ago that you need a really good reason to skip a step in a core process. It almost always ends in tears. There was no way I was going to skip something so integral to our shared success. So, I did what any self-respecting business owner would do. I offered to meet with him for an hour and ask him questions about his marketplace. If either of us thought that we didn’t need the discovery after our meeting, we’d refund his money and figure out other ways to help.
It took one question!
This is a smart guy. He’s a better, more experienced, and more successful businessperson than I am. It is good evidence that all of us fall into the experience trap. As we develop more experience, we rely on our experience to map our world. It’s hard to keep an open, always listening and learning mindset.
A note to future John
Listen to your wife.
Thanks to Oziel Gómez for the photo of the worn-out boots.