Thoughtland

Thoughtland is the imaginary place where new product ideas are born and live as abstract concepts. It's a world of opinions, beliefs, and assumptions, not a world of data.

The problem with Thoughtland is that it's a breeding ground for False Positives and False Negatives. In Thoughtland, it's easy to convince yourself that your idea is brilliant and that everyone will love it. It's also easy to be discouraged by negative opinions and give up on a good idea.

Market research methods that are based in Thoughtland, like focus groups and surveys, are unreliable. They are subject to The Four Trolls of Thoughtland:

1. The Lost-in-Translation Problem
2. The Prediction Problem
3. The No-Skin-in-the-Game Problem
4. The Confirmation-Bias Problem

To determine if an idea is The Right It, you must Escape from Thoughtland and test it in the real world. You need to collect real data from real users who have real skin in the game.