- Intellectual humility- The recognition that what you believe could be wrong.
- We don’t know the scope of our ignorance
- We often don’t know things about ourselves
- Example: Warby Parker’s mission to give a free pair of glasses with each purchase. People want to like the idea but weren’t responding to it. WP still does it but it’s buried. They don’t talk about it as much.
- Embrace people who think there might be a better way. Outsiders can see more clearly.
- Remind yourself: how many sites exist? Helps you remember the scope of your ignorance.
- Shrink your ego, even when you feel like your livelihood is threatened (i.e., even when your favored technique is challenged)
- Stay in rookie mode
- Best practices are a great place to start if you lack the data or ability to process it
- Rely on data instead of gut and experience
- Get back to basics. What did the business need 100 years ago? How do we layer our new tools on top of that?
- Reports that don’t have dollar signs on them don’t get on real decision makers’ desks
- “I’ve already surveyed my customer.” People survey differently than they behave. Don’t survey. Observe.
- People ask their secret questions to Google. Keyword research surfaces the truth. Demonstrate questions about marriage problems.
- On Facebook, you put in things you want people to think. On Google, you put in the real stuff because it’s not made public.
- Decoded book to understand why people buy
- Find the tools that will let you test your hypotheses, even when they outgrow your laptop