Always welcome your customer's scorn. This rule says read the complaint letters. Categorize them. Decide how you are going to wipe them out.

Many companies routinely do things that are not important. They fail to prioritize. They get involved with details that don't matter.

Own one idea. Complete it. Map the current model of purchase and usage. Change how it is done so at least some part of the market uses only your product. Extend from that core user to a much broader universe. Describe your concept in a very short, "six-word story" - a la Ernest Hemingway: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

My best clients tell stories that inspire. They tell stories about situations that you can identify with.

Truth is so difficult to hear about. It must be experienced.

The top 25 at every company really set the tone. Everyone watches them. They need to be present and focused. No slackers at the top. They need to meet in combination every recruit. They need to meet them on the first day. They need to teach by example. This is the lesson that great companies teach.

Consumers cannot think in abstractions. They cannot envision a new concept. They cannot predict their behavior. They can only compare against their current frame of reference. So you need to make the big leap for them. You need to provide them with a reason to buy, a reason to brag to their friends. Expect new-to-the-world ideas to fall on deaf ears. Consumers will, however, change their tune when they can see, touch, and explore.