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Podcast Summary: Steve Brazier – Engage your customers at idea stage
Background: Steve’s Entrepreneurial Legacy
Steve is a well-known entrepreneur, renowned for founding Canalys. He is a pioneer in tech research and events, working with industry titans like Apple, Google, and Cisco. Over 25 years, he built Canalys into a global powerhouse, later selling it to Informa. Today, he is the Chairman and co-founder of Canapii, along with Rita Chaher. Canapii is an innovative event management platform that provides AI-powered solutions for major organisations worldwide, including the United Nations. His journey embodies sustained growth, adaptability, and a unique approach to customer-driven innovation.
Steve’s Key Advice: Embracing “The Idea River”
Steve’s most valuable lesson centres on fostering a steady flow of ideas through close collaboration with customers. This approach, represented by “The Idea River,” involves allowing customer insights to shape the business’s direction, much like a river’s path is carved by the landscapes it traverses. Steve encourages entrepreneurs to engage customers early in the development process. By listening to and adapting based on customer feedback, businesses can stay relevant and provide true value.
For instance, when creating Canalys’ research offerings, Steve didn’t simply publish reports and wait for responses. He engaged customers throughout, ensuring every report addressed their most pressing concerns. Likewise, with Canapii, Steve relied on customer input to refine the event management tools, constantly adding features based on real needs to make the platform indispensable.
Steve’s advice is informed by a Harvard Business Review article entitled “what entrepreneurs get wrong”
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Applying “The Idea River”
Steve’s advice serves as a reminder for both emerging entrepreneurs and established leaders: innovation rarely flourishes in isolation. Collaborating with customers transforms them into contributors who help shape and refine ideas over time. Each piece of feedback, no matter how small, becomes part of the river, guiding the business towards success. In Steve’s words, “for them, it’s a throwaway comment, but for us, that’s gold dust.”
This approach not only builds loyalty but ensures that the business remains adaptable, evolving with its market’s changing needs. Steve’s commitment to customer feedback has kept his businesses thriving through decades of technological shifts.
How2-Change’s Perspective on Customer Collaboration
At How2-Change, we recognise that sustainable growth requires alignment with client needs. Whether steering M&A transformations or driving technological advancements, we mirror The Idea River approach: we adjust strategies to flow with client feedback, refining solutions to ensure they remain effective and impactful. At the outset of every client engagement, we use our How2-Change Reality Check® which taps into “the wisdom of the crowd” and ensures that stakeholders’ needs, expectations and motivations are aligned.
Final Thoughts
Steve’s story is a testament that successful businesses aren’t built in isolation. They thrive when customer insights act as a guiding force, leading to meaningful impact. For those seeking a partner in M&A, integration, or transformation, How2-Change offers expertise that flows in sync with your business’s unique journey.
To learn more about Steve’s story or discuss how How2-Change can support your organisation, connect with us today.
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