Customers, like founders, have a gap between their stated beliefs and actual behaviors. Instead of relying on discovery interviews, watch them work. Observing their actions reveals their true operating philosophy—what they genuinely value—which is a more reliable guide for product development than what they say.

To prepare for a future of human-AI collaboration, technology adoption is not enough. Leaders must actively build AI fluency within their teams by personally engaging with the tools. This hands-on approach models curiosity and confidence, creating a culture where it's safe to experiment, learn, and even fail with new technology.

Go beyond inviting your best customers to workshops. Intentionally include mid-tier or even dissatisfied customers. Giving them a forum to solve problems makes them feel heard, often turning them into loyal advocates, while providing the company with ideas grounded in real, urgent needs.

Brainstorming cannot reveal the true friction in your customer experience. Following JetBlue's example, leaders must regularly become their own customers. This practice uncovers how high-level decisions inadvertently create flaws in the customer journey that are invisible from the boardroom.

To truly understand customers, go to their natural environment—their home or shop. Observing their context reveals far more than sterile office interviews. This practice, internally branded "Listen or Die," ensures the entire team stays connected to the user's reality.

Shift from being a transactional "bellhop," who is merely efficient, to a proactive "concierge," who is fascinated by customers. This allows you to anticipate needs, make unexpected suggestions, and build deep loyalty beyond simple personalization.

Most engineers only interact with customers during negative events like outages or escalations. To build customer empathy and a product mindset, leaders must intentionally create positive touchpoints. This includes sending engineers to customer conferences or including them on low-stakes customer calls.

A brand cannot genuinely connect with customers' identities until it understands its own. The process must start with leaders defining their "why" and values, as all effective leadership—including market leadership—begins with self-leadership.

While customer empathy is common, the real breakthrough in solving complex problems comes from fostering empathy between internal business units, such as sales and operations. This transforms internal friction and blame into a shared, collaborative mission.