Expert interview · Module 2
Kindness Is Not Evidence
Dr. Greg Watson · Entrepreneur & Educator
Dr. Greg Watson opens Module 2 with the four words that sound like a green light, and three moves for getting past polite answers to real evidence: ask, listen, and weigh.
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Introduction
Entrepreneurship Essentials: Chapter 2. Welcome back.
Four words
There are four words that sound like a green light. They're usually a trap. And the people who say them love you. "I'd totally use that." In Chapter 1, I told you about the founder who named their idea, told their friends, built the website... and nobody came. Here's the part I didn't tell you. The friends weren't lying. They meant it. So why didn't they show up? Hold on to that question.
Who I am
I'm Dr. Greg Watson. I've founded fourteen companies and sold thirteen of them. For the last two years, I've also led the pitch competition at Pima Community College. Every year, I hear brilliant ideas. And the question that separates the strong pitches from the rest is almost always the same: "Who did you talk to... and what did they actually do?"
A compliment is free
Here's why that question matters. People are wired to be kind. When someone shares a dream, saying "I wouldn't buy that" feels cruel. So we say the nice thing. It costs nothing to say. That's the problem. A compliment is free. Behavior always costs something: time, effort, or money. Customer discovery is the skill of getting past the nice thing to the true thing.
Three moves
Three moves. Ask. Listen. Weigh.
Move one: Ask
Move one: Ask about yesterday, not tomorrow. "Would you use an app for this?" asks for a guess about the future. And people are terrible at predicting their own future. Instead, ask: "Tell me about the last time this happened. What did you do?" Think about a good doctor. A doctor doesn't ask, "Would you like this medicine?" A doctor asks, "Where does it hurt? When did it start? What have you tried?" Be that doctor.
Move two: Listen
Move two: Listen. Stop pitching. The moment you describe your idea, the conversation changes. Now they're reviewing your idea instead of telling you about their life. So keep your idea in your pocket. Ask, "What happened next?" Then be quiet. The most useful thing people tell you usually comes after a silence. Something like, "Actually... the hardest part wasn't that at all." When you hear that, don't argue. Lean in. The answer that surprises you is the one that saves you.
Move three: Weigh
Move three: Weigh what they did, not what they said. Picture a ladder. On the bottom rung: "Great idea." One step up: "I'd probably use it." Higher: "I spent two hours last weekend dealing with this." At the top: "I already paid someone to fix it." Opinions are cheap. History is expensive. Build on the top rungs.
Who uses vs. who pays
And make sure you're climbing the right ladder. The person who uses something isn't always the person who pays for it. Think about the cereal aisle. The kid picks the box. The parent pays. Talk only to the kid, and you'll miss the person holding the wallet.
Start narrow
Start narrow, too. If you're talking to everyone, you're learning from no one. Find the people who feel the problem most often and most painfully. Start with them.
Back to the story
So, back to those friends who said, "I'd totally use that." They weren't lying. They were being kind. And kindness is not evidence. The founder asked them to judge a dream. Nobody asked them about their life.
Your challenge
So here's your challenge. The next time someone tells you, "That's just the way it works"... smile. Say thank you. Then ask one more question: "When was the last time this happened to you... and what did you do?" That one answer is worth more than a hundred compliments. I'm Greg Watson. Welcome to Chapter 2. Let's go listen.