Five ¢ents

The phrase was coined by Harvard Business School professor John Gourville in his paper Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers: Understanding the Psychology of New-Product Adoption. In it, he dissects the disparity in perception between a consumer’s reluctance (3X) and a company’s exuberance (3X). Gourville argues that the product of these two exaggerated perceptions (9X) is the barrier that must be leapt for consumers to embrace new innovations.

Colleague Andrew McAfee offers as advice that differentiation can be achieved with a clearly and demonstrably superior user interface. Music to my ears.