The Mousetrap Myth

"We had to get out of the simplistic mode of just inventing something and expecting people to show up and buy it." Mark Hurd, new CEO of HP, as quoted in the Seattle Times (from a Wall Street Journal article).

What a concept! Hurd, a former sales exec and CEO of NCR, discovered that customers weren't actually selling to HP's top customers, but were waiting around for customers to seek out the sales rep.

They apparently subscribed to the Mousetrap Myth: if you invent a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. Right! Just don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen. (NB: this is one of theose gems of "conventional wisdom" that is just nonsense. For more conventional wisdom that isn't, check out Freakonomics by Steven Levitt.)

Get your message out, and get those salespeople working, that's my advice to HP.