Clayton Christensen Quotes

The single most important thing to remember about any enterprise is that there are no results inside its walls. The result of a business is a satisfied customer.

So I think instead of focusing on the competition, focus on the customer.

Customer-centricity is unbelievably important.

I think there's a need for somewhat of a mindset change. We need to have a consistent external focus. We've always had the research labs. We've always had the resources to be innovative, and we've been innovative in a number of businesses. But, in any big company, you have to constantly push people to look at markets and customers, rather than look internally at themselves.

We're not competitor obsessed, we're customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.

For businesses to be successful, they need to constantly ask the question: 'How can we provide value to our customers?' At the end of the day, that is what matters.

You can't just tell your team, 'Think long term.' It doesn't work that way. When you are starting out, you have to always think about trying to build something of value for the customer: something they can use all the time, something of use.

We don't want to push our ideas on to customers, we simply want to make what they want.

Empirical and observational data along with a healthy dash of intuition often have to be combined as business owners begin to look outward, not inward, at what solutions they can provide to their customers.

I think the only way to maintain profitability is to meet the needs of the customers.

For what we want to accomplish in the future, we have to be able to view everything from the eyes of the customer.

At Netflix, we realized that we weren't in business with the Toshibas and the Sonys of the world. We were in business with the guy sitting at home trying to find a DVD to watch. If we had the courage to focus on him, everyone - movie studios, electronics companies, Netflix itself - won.

My aspiration is that M&M become one of the most customer-centric organizations in the world. If we focus on understanding our customers, we will be able to develop customer-centric innovations.

When you focus solely on valuation and market share, you win some and you lose some. When you focus on the needs of your customers and help them achieve their dreams, you win every time.

If you don't listen to your customers, someone else will.

If we can keep our competitors focused on us while we stay focused on the customer, ultimately we'll turn out all right.

Best way to succeed is to do things for the customer, not to the competition. Very few people buy a product in order to help you hurt the competition. To think otherwise is lunacy.

The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. All business activities must be focused on this central purpose.

I try to build on our management philosophy. I try to understand what the threats and opportunities are for us. Uh, I try to make sure that we're driving innovation and creative destruction hard enough so we're not blindsided, and that our attitude is to, in starting any initiative, any business, is to focus on how we can create value for others, rather than how we maximize profit, because you can make money focusing on, "How do I maximize profit?"

Everything starts with the customer.

It is well worth remembering that the customer is the most important factor in any business. If you don't think so, try getting along without him for a while.

Even in the face of massive competition, don't think about the competition. Just think about the customer.

Business enterprise is an organ of society. There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer.

Even in the face of massive competition, don't think about the competition. Literally don't think about them. Every time you're in a meeting and you're tempted to talk about a competitor, replace that thought with one about user feedback or surveys. Just think about the customer.

Successful organizations have one common central focus: Customers.