“Lean Startup” junkies dogmatically recite things like “validate your idea with your customers before you start” as a key to success. Then they provide all kinds of hacks for learning (or guessing) what customers want based on what customers tell you.
I agree wholeheartedly with validation. I don’t believe in dogma.
The problem with this model is that what people want and what people value are often two very different things. It takes a keen skill (and a less dogmatic approach) to understand what people value – and they’ll rarely know exactly how to tell you. In some cases, your customers will know how to describe the function they want, but they don’t have the ability to look past the function for the value they seek. That’s not their fault – it’s up to you, savvy entrepreneur, to learn what they value and then deliver on that. Over and over and over.
