“I want you to find that thing. You know. That thing. The insight, idea or expression that suddenly makes the whole story make sense. Can you do that for us?” Well, yes. That’s kind of our thing.
Somewhere inside a great product, service or company is a compelling truth—the “thing” that can become the focal point for its narrative, strategy and, ultimately, its success. Finding it can be the difference between blending into a category and bending that category in your favor.
So where does “that thing” come from? Conversation.
Strategically guided, genuinely curious, human-to-human conversations with the customers, clinicians, salespeople and other stakeholders who live with the problem you’re trying to solve.
Ask the right question. Listen. Ask another. Listen harder.
What people say matters. How they say it matters. What they hesitate over matters. What gets them animated matters. Sometimes the throwaway comment nobody thought was important turns out to be a key part of the messaging. We have more powerful tools than ever for finding information, synthesizing it and generating ideas. But there are some things you simply won’t find by searching harder or writing a better AI prompt.
Talk to the cardiologist who deals with the problem every day. The nurse who has developed three workarounds nobody at corporate knows about. The administrator who loves the clinical benefit but loses sleep over the economics. The salesperson who hears the same objection week after week.
Because the insight may not exist anywhere yet. It may be sitting in somebody’s head. So, prompt a person.
