Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat

Chapter 14. AIMING THE PRODUCT

Ready, Fire, Aim doesn't mean you are willing to produce mediocre products. On the contrary, it is the best and most efficient way to achieve product quality. And product quality matters. It's how you maintain a good and productive and long-lasting relationship with your customers. Nothing else matters as much. Not even customer service.

So let's get that straight, in case you have any doubts. I am totally and completely devoted to getting the product right. The difference between the traditional do-it-right-the-first-time approach to product development and my Ready, Fire, Aim approach is that Ready, Fire, Aim is more realistic. It is a method that was developed from lots of experience—the experience of trying to do things right the first time and discovering that it doesn't usually work. Ready, Fire, Aim is a more practical way of developing good products. Being more practical, it is more likely to work.

Ready, Fire, Aim acknowledges that it is impossible to get a product right before the customer has had a chance to use it. Ready, Fire, Aim recognizes the fact that a big part of getting it right is making it emotionally appealing to the customer. Ready, Fire, Aim is a pragmatic method based on the observation that more than 90 percent of new-product ideas never materialize as actual products because they get lost in the development process.

Ready, Fire, Aim ultimately results in higher-quality products, because there is less money and time wasted on ...