Middle managers typically hesitate to throw their weight behind new product concepts whose market is not assured. If a market fails to materialize, the company will have wasted millions of dollars. The system therefore mandates that midlevel managers support their proposals with credible data on the size and growth potential of the markets that each idea targets. Opinions and feedback from significant customers add immeasurably to the credibility of claims that an idea has potential. Where does this evidence come from, given that the product hasn’t yet been fully developed? It typically comes
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