VP Sales & Marketing | Chief Commercial Officer | P&L Owner | Entrepreneurial Commercial Leader | Passionate about MedTech
Destroy Confirmation Bias - Destroy the MedTech Nightmare I recently watched "American Nightmare" on Netflix - disturbing story & prime example of danger of Confirmation Bias - in which we use evidence to support our pre-conceived opinions & ignore evidence that disputes them. It's human nature. I certainly do it. You probably do too. Many MedTech startups, most with breathtaking innovation, fail. This is the MedTech Nightmare. Confirmation Bias is a root cause of the MedTech Nightmare. Conventional Wisdom - We can blame complex clinical, regulatory & reimbursement challenges for the MedTech Nightmare. Reality (from NIH data) - We can blame launching a product that customers do not want to purchase for the MedTech Nightmare. Uri Levine, founder of Waze, warned us - "Fall in Love with the Problem, not the Solution." Easier said than done. Thousands of hours of blood, sweat & tears into developing amazing innovations. Once people realize how amazing this technology is, it will sell itself - or will it? A few tips to Destroy Confirmation Bias & the MedTech Nightmare: 👂 1. Talk, er Listen, to Customers. Hundreds of them. If we were CPG Entrepreneurs, we would hang out at Wal-Marts, Costcos, Country Clubs, Tractor Pulls, Sushi Bars, Hershey Bears Games - to test our products & find the "product / market fit". Do the same in MedTech. Not just Surgeons and not just Cleveland Clinic. Referring Clinicians, PAs, Residents, Nurses, Techs, Nurse Managers, Purchasing Directors, Service Line Leaders, Payor Medical Directors, Quality Officers . . . a milieu of critical customers in MedTech. All with unique perspectives. All critical. 🛌 2. Sleep On It Daniel Kahneman taught us we have 2 thinking systems - Fast (emotional & instinctive) & Slow (deliberate & logical). The slow system must prevail to destroy confirmation bias. Methodically reflect on customer feedback with a big blank canvas & open mind. 👶 3. Call the Baby Ugly Diversity & psychological safety are critical in startup culture. Different people with different perspectives that feel confident voicing them. We have a tendency to surround ourselves with like-minded people, especially when we want to move fast. Our customers are diverse - our people should be too. If you ask someone about strategy or positioning in an interview, and they say something insightful & completely different than what you wanted to hear - hire that person. "Calling the baby ugly" may be uncomfortable, and will help destroy confirmation bias. Together we can destroy the MedTech Nightmare.
