If one engineer at a startup tries Slack and says, 'I hate it. I am not going to use this,' that's it for us. We won't get evaluated.
Interpretation
User experience is crucial for product success in startups.
This quote emphasizes the importance of user feedback in the startup environment, particularly how one negative experience can significantly affect the product's reception and evaluation. It highlights that in a fast-paced startup, the opinions of individual users can be decisive for the overall success of a product.
In practice
In a team meeting discussing product improvements, one might say, 'As Stewart Butterfield highlighted, we need to consider every piece of feedback we get.'
Hard numbers tell an important story; user stats and sales numbers will always be key metrics. But every day, your users are sharing a huge amount of qualitative data, too - and a lot of companies either don't know how or forget to act on it.
You go to any MBA program, and you will be taught the theory of the firm, that the purpose of the firm is the maximization of return on invested capital. I always thought this was a kind of lunacy.
If the value of a company doesn't just scream out at you, it's too close.
There's a fundamental distinction between strategy and operational effectiveness.
If you have a business model that relies on customers being misinformed, you better start working on changing your business model.
You should not build your customer service system on the premise that your organisation will never question the whims of your clients.
Business men are to be pitied who do not recognize the fact that the largest side of their secular business is benevolence. ... No man ever manages a legitimate business in this life without doing indirectly far more for other men than he is trying to do for himself.
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