Day 30: Listen, learn, iterate

[Day 30/30: Product Manager to CEO 30 Day Challenge] Listen, learn, and iterate.

This is the mantra of the lean startup movement. When you're building something new, it's easy to get caught up in the details of what you're making. But if you don't get out of your bubble and listen to what people have to say about your product, you're not going to be able to build something that people actually want.

You need to test, learn, and iterate on your product until it's just right. And when we say "just right," we mean exactly what your customers want—not a thing more or less! One of the most important things we can do in our businesses is to listen to our customers.

My hope is, if you've been with me on our 30-day PM to CEO challenge, I have set you up to build a successful business, with your customers being at the heart of what you do. You need to know what they want and how they like it. If not, then how can you hope to get it right?

Once you've done that, the next step is to learn from them by testing your ideas with them. That way, when you show them something new, they'll know exactly what they're getting into and why it's important for them.

And finally, once you've listened and learned from your customers, then it's time for iteration—or continuous improvement—of your product or service until it meets their needs exactly as well as possible.

The beauty of this whole process is that it allows you to take risks without taking too much risk at once. If something doesn't work out in one iteration or one test, no big deal—just move on and try something else until something clicks!