Held on 23 February 2023

Geeks Talking To Customers

This is an exec member exclusive video.

Oscar was the grumpiest of grumpy engineers. He could make a server dance and fix anything in the database with one finger, but if you wanted to talk about anything other than MySQL or Star Trek, his answers made grunts seem cheerful and verbose by comparison. Then one day, I coaxed him across the office to answer calls from our customers, who were usually about 10 years old and crying because our app wouldn't work for them. I looked over later and was astonished to hear him laughing as he worked some technical magic to solve a kid's problem and convert tears into joy. He volunteered regularly after that to take a shift on the phones.

Not every engineer who talks to customers has an epiphany like Oscar. But there's nothing stopping them getting valuable feedback direct from the source, except fear. And once that's overcome, you'll be amazed at the responsiveness and accuracy of your tech team in addressing user issues and needs, without the need for lengthy "discovery" and detailed requirements documents.

Join me for a free, highly interactive Zoom call to discuss:

Where you fit on the "tilted slider", showing the tendency toward too much control and not enough engagement and productivity.
How to get engineers involved with user research, sales calls, and customer service—without overwhelming anyone with technobabble..
Why experiments and rapid feedback are key to locking in the benefits of direct customer engagement.