The customer is always right” mantra is probably the dumbest thing business school professors burnt into naive and tender minds.

The real world is a classroom that destroys textbook knowledge on a daily basis.

Reality is.

The most successful tech companies got filthy rich by… drumroll please… completely ignoring their customers?

Yep, you heard that right.

Ignoring.

Their.

Customers.

Sounds like business suicide, doesn’t it? daily

But stick with me because this might just be the most profitable piece of advice you’ve ever heard.

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Watch this from 17:14 onwards (or the whole thing)

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Let’s talk about NVIDIA, the $300 billion tech giant.

Well, who isn’t talking about them right now?

Their co-founder, Jensen Huang, spilled the beans on their early days, and it’s wildly accurate of how reality actually works.

Jensen ignored their customers for FIVE WHOLE YEARS.

No customer surveys.
No focus groups.
Nada.

And now they’re swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck.

But how?
But why?

And how did that not tank their business?

Jensen understood something fundamental about their industry.

It’s called Moore’s Law.

Now, don’t worry; I’m not going to get all nerdy on you.

TLDR; — Computer stuff gets twice as good and half as expensive roughly every two years.

NVIDIA looked at this and thought, “Hey, if we just focus on making our stuff twice as good every year, we’ll be golden.”

And you know what?
They were right.

But what If they had listened to their customers, they might have missed this.

Why?

Because most of us don’t think in terms of exponential growth.

We think in small, incremental steps.

Think about your morning commute.

If I asked you how to improve it, you’d probably say something like, “Less traffic” or “A more comfortable car seat.”

You wouldn’t say, “I want a teleportation device that instantly zaps me to my office.”

But sometimes, that sci-fi leap is exactly what transforms industries.

(For the old nerds: “We want a faster horse.”)

So, what does this mean for you?

Well, it doesn’t mean you should completely ignore your customers.

But it does mean you should trust your gut sometimes.

Especially if your gut is telling you something big is coming.

Think about it.

Did anyone ask for an iPhone before it existed?

Nope.

But Apple trusted their vision, and look where we are now.

So here’s the million-dollar question:

How do you know when to listen to your customers and when to trust your vision?

It’s all about balance.

You need to understand your industry inside and out.

Know its rhythms, its patterns, and its fundamental laws.

Then, use that knowledge to inform your vision.

And sometimes, that might mean taking a leap of faith.

Even if your customers aren’t asking for it yet.

Because, true innovation often means creating something people don’t even know they need yet.

It’s scary.
It’s risky.
It’s unknown.

But it can also be incredibly rewarding.

So, what’s the big picture here?

Innovation isn’t just about incremental improvements.

It’s about seeing the future before anyone else does.

It’s about understanding the fundamental principles of your industry so well that you can predict its future.

And sometimes, it’s about having the courage to ignore the noise and trust your vision.

Ready to give it a shot?

Here are three things you can do immediately:

1. Deep dive into your industry.
   Learn its fundamental principles inside and out.
2. Think big.
   Don’t just ask, “What do my customers want now?” Ask “What will they need in the future?”
3. Trust your gut.
   If your industry knowledge and vision tell you that something big is coming, have the courage to pursue it.

Remember, the next big innovation might not be what people are asking for.

It might be what they don’t even know they need yet.

So go ahead, trust your vision.

You might just change the world.