We don’t respond only to what happens around us. We respond to what we believe it means. I’ve spent a good part of my working life trying to understand why people make the decisions they do. You’d think that after enough years of doing this, people would get easier to understand. I’ve found almost the
Understanding How People Understand Read More »
Knowing what someone is trying to accomplish is the beginning of understanding them. It isn’t the end of it. I wrote recently about an idea that has sat at the center of my work for a long time, which is that people make decisions and choose behaviors in pursuit of goals. I still believe that’s
Understanding People in the Scenarios That Matter Read More »
Why Understanding What People Are Trying to Accomplish Changes How Organizations Serve Them One of the ideas that has stayed with me throughout my work is actually quite simple. People make decisions and choose behaviors in the pursuit of goals. That idea was foundational when I first developed Buyer Personas twenty-five years ago. In fact,
People Pursue Goals Read More »
For more than three decades, I’ve been interested in one fundamental question: How can organizations better understand the people they serve? That question began with buyers. It expanded to audiences and communities. Over time, it led me to something broader: Human Understanding. In my previous essay, I made the case that Human Understanding should be
What Is Human Understanding? Read More »
Every successful organization intentionally develops capabilities. Some invest in Strategic Planning. Others strengthen Organizational Development. Many embrace Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, Leadership Development, or Organizational Learning. These disciplines exist for a reason. They help organizations think better, plan better, innovate better, and lead better. But over the past several years, I’ve found myself asking a
Why Organizations Need Human Understanding Read More »
Organizations have never had more information about the people they serve. Research. Dashboards. Analytics. Artificial Intelligence. Yet many people still feel misunderstood. I believe organizations sometimes mistake knowing more for understanding more. They’re not the same thing. Information helps us know people. Understanding helps us serve people. That distinction has been at the center of
Human Understanding Insight Read More »
How twenty-five years of Buyer Personas led me to Audience Personas, Community Personas, and the emerging discipline of Human Understanding. Twenty-five years ago, I introduced the concept of Buyer Personas because I believed organizations needed a better way to understand the people they served. At the time, marketing was becoming increasingly driven by technology, automation,
Buyer Personas Began with Buyers. It Was Always About People. Read More »
GTM Strategy Requires Deep Understanding of Buyers On Thursday, December 8, I will be giving a 45-minute talk on the importance of understanding buyers today to meet GTM Strategy challenges in a post-pandemic world. It is a pleasure to accept this invitation from BrightTALK and TechTarget. Two supporters on the need for insights and the
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Commercial and Political Responses Must Resolve to Stop Russian Aggression Nearly ninety years ago, we saw a forceful head of state annex what he called “homeland” territories. Made sham promises to countries such as England. Invade countries under false pretexts such as Czechoslovakia. The threatening clouds of his real designs were visible yet deemed as
The World Must Respond Commercially and Politically to Threats Against a Free World Read More »
Buying Decisions Are Affected By Intensified Buyer Activism Sentiments During the past decade, we have seen a significant rise in consumer activism. And that has translated to a rise in both brand activism as well as shareholder activism. We have seen consumers changing buying behaviors with their pocketbooks. Refusing or boycotting certain brands due to their social or
Buyer Activism Will Rise Among B2B Buyers Read More »
