`Customer Discovery` is always critical, and it is Product and Marketing people's job mostly. They need to discover something, a positive sign, BEFORE going to build the thing. They are scouts. They can use MVP's, small prototypes or even mocks to validate the path.
However most of the time managers skip that step. They want to move the army of the engineers towards a path where the path is not scouted enough. They want to first build the thing then try to sell or do marketing about it. What they miss is people's time and money, or in ancient times it was people's lives. It is really bad for a C-level or a leader.
What Suresh should have done is just doing it, because it is in his job description as a Sales and Marketing person. Besides producing marketing jargon, nice presentations or creating weekly reports to the C-levels; he should go there and discover customers, needs, potential sales. If he fails the discovery there is 2 outcomes. First he is a bad explorers, then you need to replace your P&M guy, sorry Suresh. Second, there is really nothing to discover. Then this is good, it can prevent a catastrophe, a potential bankrupt due to going to the wrong way. No offense C-levels, you should thank Suresh.
However most of the time managers skip that step. They want to move the army of the engineers towards a path where the path is not scouted enough. They want to first build the thing then try to sell or do marketing about it. What they miss is people's time and money, or in ancient times it was people's lives. It is really bad for a C-level or a leader.
What Suresh should have done is just doing it, because it is in his job description as a Sales and Marketing person. Besides producing marketing jargon, nice presentations or creating weekly reports to the C-levels; he should go there and discover customers, needs, potential sales. If he fails the discovery there is 2 outcomes. First he is a bad explorers, then you need to replace your P&M guy, sorry Suresh. Second, there is really nothing to discover. Then this is good, it can prevent a catastrophe, a potential bankrupt due to going to the wrong way. No offense C-levels, you should thank Suresh.