Seek Out Information That’s Contradictory To Your Own Perspective With Jonathan Norton

Often, we are really not the best critic for our own product. With our emotional attachment and biases, leaving the final say to ourselves will not help us improve. This episode’s guest is someone who shares this unique perspective and highlights the importance of working with the customer in the product development cycle. Betsy Westhafer and Tony Bodoh sit down with former Army Ranger and inventor of the RopeSafe Edge Protection System, Jonathan Norton. Here, Jon shares with us his own journey and the moment that led him to form his company—where he saw a problem, determined whether it was real, and got input from the field. He highlights the importance of being open to feedback, the discipline required when validating that customer feedback, and the approval process that goes with it. Jon then talks about why culture matters so much and why you need to adjust accordingly to the information your customers provide, even if it seems contradictory to your own perspective.