Don't ask members what they need (do this instead)

After my keynote at the NZSAE Conference, somebody came up to me raving about how valuable it had been.

"That's so kind," I said. "What was the most valuable part?"

"I loved your suggestion to go and interview some members on what they want from us."

The funny thing is that I never made that suggestion.

In fact, I think it's a bad idea! 

Let me explain why.

Asking members what they need is asking them to make something up

When you sit a member down and ask "what do you need?", you're asking them to imagine a future they haven't lived yet and then design a solution for it, on the spot, in front of you.

It's like asking them to tell you the plot of a movie they haven't seen yet!

A reader emailed me recently with a different version of this same challenge:

"One of my big frustrations is that when I ask what would help, they just don't seem to know!!!"

That last bit is quite insightful, so let me re-state it differently.

Members are so busy and overwhelmed that they cannot even consider what they want and need. A vicious cycle, right? How can we break it?

Ask about the past instead

Here's a little trick I learned in a past life as a startup mentor.

If you want to figure out what members need, ask questions about the past, not the future.

Members can tell you in rich detail about their struggles and frustrations. Those are often far more useful for guiding what members need than their opinions about what they need. 

Their experience of the past is real. Their opinions about the future are just that: opinions.

Try it this week

In your conversations with members, ask them about what they're seeing, thinking, hearing and feeling. Go deep into their problems. Nod your head, listen and reflect back what you hear.

Once you've had 20 (or even just half a dozen) of those conversations, you'll be far better placed to work with members on creating what they really need.

You'll be basing your ideas on real needs, not imagined solutions.

If you want to better understand the needs of your members, you can also get somebody external (like me) to do that on your behalf. Book a brainstorming conversation with me to see if that's the right move for you right now.

Go well,

Paul