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Lovability: How to Build a Business That People Love and Be Happy Doing It

Brian de Haaff (Goodreads Author)

3.69 · Rating details · 159 ratings · 30 reviews

Love is the surprising emotion that company builders cannot afford to ignore.

Genuine, heartfelt devotion and loyalty from customers — yes, love — is what propels a select few companies ahead. Think about the products and companies that you really care about and how they make you feel. You do not merely likethose products, you adore them.

Consider your own emotions and a k ...more

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Hardcover, 272 pages

Published April 25th 2017 by Greenleaf Book Group Press

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Oct 27, 2017 Anton Iokov rated it it was ok

Shelves: kindle

This should have been a powerful medium-sized article but somehow turned into a book full of self-repetitiveness, narcissism and plain marketing bullshit.

Most of the ideas are reasonable and inspiring but they are repeated so often that you start to despise them after the 4th chapter.

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Jul 21, 2019 Alex Schmidt rated it did not like it

Shelves: nope, 1-star, disappointment, almost-dnf

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be. Think this is more for people creating a new product vs what I do since my company gives me everything I could possibly need to be successful. Got 2 good nuggets out of it but wouldn’t recommend unless you are trying to start up a company from scratch.

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Oct 18, 2017 Jonathan Lu rated it really liked it

Grandpa rules - grow a profitable and successful business
- Story of mine craft vs. zygna. Building something people love vs. using a psychologist to figure out how to sell more add-ones
- "Lovability - the capacity to earn genuine, heartfelt love and loyalty from customers - is the secret ingredient that propels a select few organizations ahead and leads not only to consistent growth and profitability but sustainable happiness for everyone involved[…] we do not think about 'loving' a product as ...more

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Aug 26, 2018 Angelo G. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Such a great read. Anyone that works for a company with a product needs to read this as it provides a great insight into how focusing on the entire customer experience will ultimately lead to long term success.

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Feb 25, 2021 Heather rated it liked it

Shelves: leadership, technology-innovation

I happened upon this company on LinkedIn and thought they had an interesting story and philosophy and way of doing business--focus on meeting a need and making customers happy to be successful. This book is most helpful if you are planning to start a business, particularly a product-based company, but there are some helpful insights for success beyond business. Listen, care, focus, and be happy!

Here are a few favorite quotes:

"There are better ways to build a business (p. 2)."

"The idea of puttin I happened upon this company on LinkedIn and thought they had an interesting story and philosophy and way of doing business--focus on meeting a need and making customers happy to be successful. This book is most helpful if you are planning to start a business, particularly a product-based company, but there are some helpful insights for success beyond business. Listen, care, focus, and be happy!

Here are a few favorite quotes:

"There are better ways to build a business (p. 2)."

"The idea of putting customers first and acting with integrity is gaining traction (p. 4)."

"Business is not about software or hardware, but the people who create value (p. 5)."

"A human-centered approach is consistent with the time-tested values of our grandparents and the way they did business (p. 5)."

"We also wanted to create a place where people would love to work (p. 7)."

"Our goals did not seem unreasonable... Create software that would help others build better products. Share information freely and remove friction. Eliminate traditional approaches to selling. Take care of our customers... Set smart employees free... Take a long-term outlook... Redefine what a technology company could be (p. 7)."

"Lovability--the capacity to earn genuine, heartfelt love and loyalty from customers--is the secret ingredient that propels a select few organizations ahead and leads not only to consistent growth and profitability but sustainable happiness for everyone involved (p. 10)."

"Lovable products, services, and companies are disrupting entire industries. They are changing the world (p. 11)."

"A corporation does not do anything: its people and customers do (p. 11)."

"My goal with this book is to give you a clear path to building products and a business that customers love (p. 11)."

"It is a relationship-based approach guided by the same ideals that guide healthy relationships in other parts of our lives--honesty, empathy, communication, and authenticity (p. 12)."

"Build businesses around integrity, human happiness, long-term sustainable prosperity, and mutually beneficial exchanges of value (p. 12)."

"Customer support builds value and trust (p. 20)."

"The product is the complete experience and the relationship you and the customer share... the seven components are... marketing... sales... technology... supporting systems... third-party integrations... support... policies (p. 21)."

"Your customer experience is your product (p. 26)."

"A customer journey map is a great way to blend analytical data... and anecdotal data... into a complete picture that answers a big question: How are our customers experiencing our company and where are we failing to deliver a lovable experience (p. 27)?"

"Understanding the customer's journey and need at a deep level... transformed both the customer's internal culture and our own... That's what leads to love, loyalty, and profitability (p. 29)."

"Know them and honestly care about helping them (p. 35)."

"What is the purpose of your product?... Profit is the outcome of a well-executed CPE, not its purpose (p. 35)."

"Service and relationships matter... Consider the customer journey... Your values are your product... Every product has a purpose (p. 37)."

"What makes Airbnb truly unique in a world of wannabes is its understanding that its product is not rooms... It's trust (p. 41)."

"Obsessed with building valuation and pursuing the next round of funding, founders often delay focus on the CPE, building customer value, or helping employees grow... We wanted to build something that real people with real needs would find value in and pay for... That focus paid off fast (p. 51)."

"Lovability is the only success that really matters (p. 51)."

"A lovable product solves a real need (p. 52)."

"Lovability is backed with integrity (p. 53)."

"Do the right thing because it's the right thing (p. 53)."

"Sometimes, caring about customers means telling them that you're not a good fit--and even helping them find an alternative (p. 54)."

"Every person in an organization has a role to play in building a lovable product (p. 59)."

"Trust grows from 'moments of truth' when you have to back up your values with action (p. 62)."

"The building blocks stack up... hope, satisfaction, care, confidence, trust, scale, sustainability, motivation, fun, halo (p. 66)."

"Stay curious. To get to genuine lovability, keep digging and understand your customers' real needs and motivations (p. 69)."

"Business is made up of human interactions... Love is central to business (p. 77)."

"Lovability... solves a problem... means helpful, effective support personnel (p. 80)."

"Lovability lets employees focus on being better (p. 84)."

"Appreciation is not about praise. It is about the opportunity to rise based on your effort and accomplishments. Sustainably happy organizations promote from within and create a culture where every employee knows that achievement will be rewarded... Profit sharing encourages a team to take ownership (p. 85)."

"Stable companies with happy workforces also perform better financially than high-anxiety, high-turnover businesses (p. 86)."

"Lovability means you are responsible for being your best (p. 89)."

"Valuation is the value of an asset, usually calculated by an expert... it is highly quantitative... Value, on the other hand, is a measure of the importance, usefulness, or worth of something (p. 96)."

"The best businesses are usually tortoises, not hares--slow and steady, relying on personal relationships and responsiveness to grow sales, create value, and build customer trust (p. 97)."

"Build something that you feel good about and love working in (p. 99)."

"Distributed teams make it possible to hire the best people wherever they are (p. 104)."

"Lovability is not new. It is the way our grandparents and great-grandparents did business... Keep it simple. Put your head down, ignore the hype, and focus on your customers. Learn what they care about, what they need, and what makes their lives better. Then build that. Eliminate the distractions and drama that keep your team from doing their finest work. Do everything you can to deliver value that your customers will not only recognize but sacrifice for (p. 109)."

"'What problem do we want to help customers solve and how can we solve it better than anyone else (p. 117)?'"

"The people who founded companies in past generations did not rely on massive funding and market hype to launch their businesses. Instead, they saw a genuine customer need... and started a business to satisfy it (p. 121)."

"The Responsive Method includes... integrity... ambition... effort... skill... learning (p. 129)."

"We will achieve... By this date... By taking these actions... For this reason... (p. 134)."

"A sustainable organization respects the employee as the deliverer and creator of lovability and understands that you cannot foster love unless you feel it (p. 138)."

"What are your goals?... What customer problem will your product solve?... What are your initiatives?... What features are the highest priority (p. 148)?"

"Curiosity also helps people develop the empathy that is critical for lovable customer relationships. Empathy comes from understanding another person's situation--including their challenges and pain--and genuinely caring about them. You get there by asking sincere questions, finding common ground, and seeing the situation from the other person's perspective (p. 152)."

"Two words for startups about interruptions: Cherish them (p. 153)."

"People are the most important resource for any business, and people... respond best to kindness, respect, humility, and empathy. You never know what other people are going through in their lives (p. 157)."

"Sustainable happiness is about achieving what you want in your whole life, which includes what you do for work (p. 159)."

"You can build a sustainable, profitable business that is also good for and to people (p. 160)."

"An environment where employees derive pleasure from solving customer problems may sound idealistic, but it is both sound business practice and crucial for lovability (p. 175)."

"'Trust your team. If you do, your customers will trust them too (p. 187).'"

"Every interaction with employees either reinforces or contradicts your stated values and impacts whether people trust you to do what you say you will do (p. 202)."

"Giving people goals stretches them and brings them to life (p. 207)."

"Keep learning. Focus. Train harder. Be more transparent. Do one thing that will make customers love you. Then do another (p. 211)."

"Do what makes you happy and heals you and others will be drawn to your vision (p. 214)."

"Lovability requires a 24/7 focus on product and human interaction--there is no break (p. 215)."

"Companies that foster delight/love can maintain higher margins because their customers are willing to pay a premium for a wonderful experience (p. 224)." ...more

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Jan 20, 2018 Natz rated it it was ok

Some editor at some point should have mentioned how the repetitive use of a million different acronyms would get SO tiring. If I put this book down for a day and picked it up again, I'd have to go through the, "Huh? What did THAT acronym mean, again?" and go back to look it up because the author couldn't just make all his points without giving every strategy its own unique ~name~. Other than that, a more accurate title for this book should have been, "Lovability: How to Build a SOFTWARE Business ...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Anton Iokov rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

This should have been a powerful medium-sized article but somehow grown into a book full of self-repetitiveness, narcissism and plain marketing bullshit.

Most of the ideas are reasonable and even inspiring but they are repeated so often that you can't help despising them after chapter 4. ...more

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Mar 29, 2018 Monty Mitra rated it it was ok

I'm a fan of what De Haaff has built and largely agree with the approach that he lays out in this book. Unfortunately, the book falls a bit short in being a persuasive argument for bucking the trend of Silicon Valley's 'raise as much cash and probably burn out' approach to building companies. The main issue I have with the book is that it reads more like a collection of long blog posts as opposed to a tightly constructed narrative. The consequences of this are excessive repetition, an outsider's I'm a fan of what De Haaff has built and largely agree with the approach that he lays out in this book. Unfortunately, the book falls a bit short in being a persuasive argument for bucking the trend of Silicon Valley's 'raise as much cash and probably burn out' approach to building companies. The main issue I have with the book is that it reads more like a collection of long blog posts as opposed to a tightly constructed narrative. The consequences of this are excessive repetition, an outsider's tone, and glossing over interesting ideas.

The repetition of ideas and terminology was such that I found myself scanning the text until I found a new idea and this became more frequent the further I got into the book.

Regarding tone, I couldn't help but compare this book to the books and writings produced by Basecamp's leaders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson as they have similar approaches to product and business building. Fried and Hansson's writing have a much more 'reporting from the trenches' tone that really ground their thinking in reality. However, Lovability feels a bit more like it was written by someone who just knew de Haaff really well. I'm not saying someone else wrote it but I do think some more upfront planning and overall editing could have fixed this. There's just not enough of him in this. De Haaff has a wealth of experience and that should have been more front and center in this book. As an example, he lays out a variety of phased steps for building a great product experience. This would have been a perfect place to include Aha!'s experience in getting these right and where in his career he saw these steps being implemented improperly. Without that, it just feels theoretical. There is a moment where he describes why chooses not to hire a sales team and feels that sales should be more akin to tour guides based on his experience of visiting historic sites in southern Spain. These are the moments that ground his ideas in something tangible but they are rare.

The book also gives equal time to cliched ideas and innovative ideas and that's a real miss. He devotes the same amount of writing to the idea that businesses should be kind (of course) to the idea that businesses should be interrupt driven and immediately squash all bugs (I guess that most software teams don't operate like this). It's such an interesting idea and seems to be a central operating principle of Aha! so why is it treated more of a bullet point than actually deep diving into this? It should have been its own chapter.

In general, Lovability feels like it was edited by a marketing team (that's not intended as an insult, editing marketing content and editing a novel are two vastly different things) and I hope that should he write another book, and I hope he does, that he finds a way to construct a narrative that includes his life, learnings, and failures, as a more central part of it. ...more

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Aug 03, 2018 Dragan Nanic rated it it was ok

The fact that someone believed that book like this is necessary is worrying. The whole message is simple, if obvious: products should be built for people, solving a real issue; companies should aim for serving people not the other way around and greed is a sin! (minus the last one, I added it myself. De Haaff mentioned greed only once, in passing.) Unfortunately, it is repeated ad nauseam. Furthermore, it is elevated to the status of method to practice and live by because:

Love is a fundamental c ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Michel Billard rated it really liked it

As part of joining Aha!, I was given a book to read: Lovability: How to Build a Business That People Love and Be Happy Doing It. It’s a refreshing business book where Brian de Haaff, Aha!’s CEO, demonstrates how it’s possible to build successful products and companies with methods that are (sadly) uncommon in a world where tech companies fight for venture capital (VC), growth at all costs and big exits.

I’m surprised I haven’t come across the book before considering the values and ideas put forwa ...more

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Jul 25, 2017 Ilana rated it it was amazing

We are living in a very future-oriented world, where technology seems to be the ticket to success, but the ways to make success happens are sometimes the old, classical human ones. Lovability proves that what it matters at the end of the day is the focus on human emotions and the bridge that shall be made between a brand and its customers. It applies to almost every kind of company, from the cloud-data operators to retail shops. It requires a bigger amount of dedication and time, much more than ...more

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Nov 05, 2017 Justin Weiss rated it it was amazing

If you've already read a lot around building customer focus, empathic leadership, and the "build a company, not just an exit" writing around the web, a lot of the ideas in this book might not be surprising to you. That doesn't make them any less important -- and if you're new to this way of thinking, this book will be a revelation to you.

There were some ideas in the book I would usually have disagreed with. And here I found it especially interesting. Because the ideas I disagreed with, they were ...more

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May 05, 2017 Austin Merritt rated it it was amazing

Lovability is outstanding. It's a wonderful model for building a business and delivering products and it will change the way you approach your work each day. Deliver real value, offer customers a complete experience, help them achieve something meaningful. Think about the businesses or products you love. They all work hard to deliver for you in these key areas. Lovability provides a framework and inspiration for entrepreneurs, product managers, customer success leaders -- anyone who wants to bui ...more

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May 12, 2017 Dru Clegg rated it it was amazing

If you've considered starting a business or launching a product, this is the book to read. As someone who spent several years working with tech startups, the approach Brian outlines is refreshing and proven with the growing success of his latest company, Aha!. His recommendation to be profit-focused and to lean on paying customers instead of investors may seem obvious, but it is rarely done. The tips and tricks shared in Lovability provide an innovative approach to building a business around a " ...more

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May 05, 2017 Jean-Francois Potvin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My organization has been using Aha! for about 6 months now and I totally understand what #lovability mean. This is an awesome product, a great company and The Responsive Method combined with the Complete Product Experience seems to be great tools for building a successful digital solution and company culture. I'll definitely take some of Brian's advices and try to get our leaders onboard with this methodology. ...more

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May 14, 2017 Michael Dubakov rated it really liked it

Shelves: feature-owner

The book is OK, but overly optimistic.
I personally haven't found anything new here, but it resonates of my vision of the world, thus stretched 4 stars.

It looks like only positive sides of the authors approach are enumerated, while all negative or problematic sides are carefully avoided. Usual for such books business examples carefully selected to form a right point of view, so I felt manipulated at times, despite the fact that the author is sincere. ...more

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Jul 07, 2017 Nina rated it it was amazing

I try and read a handful of books that are related to my work, professional development, or some project I have going. This book is one of those books that I now want everyone I work with to read. It combines business philosophy and anecdotes with real practical advice in an amazing and compelling way. I am ready to go out an evangelize about the importance of using lovability as a metric for success in the work I do.

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Nov 20, 2017 Gabriela rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, arc

The lovability concept is one that should be applied by all companies, by all means. A complete product experience is what really makes the customer come back and at the same time develops a business based on trust and happiness for all parties involved. The book itself may seem a bit repetitive at times, nevertheless the basic concepts and framework should be considered and applied nowadays.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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May 07, 2017 Jess rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teach-me

The CEO of one, if not the best, product management tools in the industry. Mr de Haaff puts his thoughts and wins on paper for all to consume.

If you love aha! and product management, you need this book. If you want to gain incite from a great leader, you need this book.

Get it. You can thank me later.

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Oct 02, 2020 Ivan Lozano rated it liked it · review of another edition

A couple of good ideas introduced in the first few chapters of the book, then many, many chapters of filler content repeating those same ideas and promising cool tools to carry them out at the end of the book. You get to that last chapter and it turns out the tools are simply small surveys. This book could have been 3 chapters long.

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Oct 23, 2020 Dave Boucher rated it it was amazing

The tech world is obsessed with valuation when they should be obsessed with value. This book takes tech companies back to their roots and squarely focuses on creating real, tangible customer value. Such a simple concept, but it gets lost in most tech companies these days. It all starts and ends with real customer value. I loved this book!

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May 14, 2017 MK Fong rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

insightful, weaving in old world characteristics such as kindness, humility into business and contrasting with some failed modern traps such as rushing too quickly to market. bonus - fun illustrations!

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Oct 23, 2018 Yoric rated it it was ok

I have no doubt building lovable products is important. Maybe I were too busy when reading this book, and I couldn't catch the really good pieces of advice, out of the very common sense, that could benefit me. ...more

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Apr 15, 2018 Roshan rated it it was ok

What could have been covered in 2 or 3 pages... a bit like "Start with Why" in that regard ...more

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Oct 07, 2019 Wulan Suci Maria rated it it was ok

When I picked up the book, I was expecting something more than what author currently put in this book, something deeper than just about how he build his own brand and startup. unfortunately, I didnt get it even after read the book untill the last page.
There are also so many repetition on the concept and topic discussion in the book, with two to three pages long of summary with big space / empty gap between one point to another, which leave impression that the author/publisher purposely want to m ...more

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Jun 30, 2017 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, zz2017-read, zznbrc-tower-team-v

I run my own small business and have done so for the past 8 years so I was very interested to see what this book was about and whether I could pick up any actionable tips on how to better engage with and serve my clients.
Lovability did have some interesting and thought provoking ideas, especially the concept of bringing the emotion of 'love' into the performance metrics of a business. It's not something that you would normally associate with running a business but I can certainly see the benefit ...more

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May 07, 2017 Karen Maslowski rated it it was ok

Refreshing approach to building products. I appreciate the focus on solving an interesting problem and building value - not just hype.

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Apr 28, 2017 Ron Yang rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-shelves

Great business book on innovation and how to start a lasting technology business. The author provides a framework for creating lovable businesses with happy employees and happy customers.

It's a very innovative approach to building businesses and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is considering launching a new idea. ...more

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May 01, 2017 Melissa Hopkins rated it it was amazing

A well-written book with great advice for how to avoid all of the mistakes that businesses and entrepreneurs usually make when trying to make a fortune without creating value for customers.

This gets back to the basics of what makes a product and company truly lovable.

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Feb 25, 2018 Zafar Khan marked it as to-read

i think this is the exciting book

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About Brian de Haaff

Brian de Haaff

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Brian de Haaff seeks business and wilderness adventure. He has more than 20 years of experience building breakthrough products and has founded multiple successful software companies. He is the co-founder and CEO of Aha! — one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. and the world’s #1 product roadmap software. His two previous startups were acquired by well-known public companies.

Brian writes ...more

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“Your principles are your true north because they instruct how you will handle every situation, especially when there is no easy choice.” — 3 likes

“Let’s consider another similar story — the dating website Plenty of Fish. German programmer Markus Frind started the company in 2003 as a programming exercise. He had been wanting to learn a new coding language called ASP.NET, so he built the site in two weeks — and to his surprise, it took off. Frind never raised a dime of outside money, because the venture was profitable from the beginning. “I didn’t see the need to raise money because I wouldn’t know what to do with it,” he said in a 2015 interview with Business Insider. “It was a profitable company, and there was no need to raise money.”3 Plenty of Fish grew slowly and organically for more than 10 years, eventually growing to about 75 employees and 90 million registered users. In 2015, Match Group (which also owns dating sites Match.com and OKCupid) bought Plenty of Fish for $575 million. “It wasn’t like I had a plan to create a dating site,” Frind said. “It was just a side project I created that got really big.” Not bad for what started as a hobby.” — 1 likes

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