Why xbox killed ps2 and zune has'nt killed the ipod?

“The big difference between Xbox and Zune was the customer target.With Zune, we didn’t know who we were building it for. With Xbox, we knew
those guys. Hell, we were those guys.”— Xbox team member

as articled in Businessweek:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/mar2009/id2009034_766385_page_2.htm

"Why was Microsoft able to create such a compelling video game system only to churn out a mediocre portable music player? The competitive context was the same. The research was similar. The design and engineering resources brought to the challenge were significant in both cases. What makes a company deliver a bravura performance one day and fall flat the next? Empathy. As one member of the team confided: "The biggest challenge with Zune was trying to figure out who we were building it for. With Xbox, we knew those guys. Hell, we were those guys."

Empathy results in Business Growth

Here's my takeaway on a must read book written by Dev Patnaik on Empathy:

"A company needs to be connected to its customer:
And then, when it comes time to revise the company billing policies, that guy
realizes that there’s one way to change the system that might really help customers out and another that might totally enrage them."

"People Have Empathy By Nature. Companies Have to Work at It
These folks don’t realize that their business is actually out in the world—
in the stores where people buy their products, and in the homes where they live their lives."

"
This isn’t about market research. It’s not about Voice of the Customer. It’s about
strategy and culture, and getting everybody to focus on what’s really important. Stop trying to ask customers what they want. Start walking in their shoes.

At Nike, everyone who works on a shoe is a runner themselves. That way, even if the market research isn’t great, the shoe ends up being good because the designers have a gut sense for what other runners are looking for."

"In the early 1990s, IBM (IBM) was in crisis. The organization had laid off thousands of employees as its profit and revenue fell for the first time ever. By the time Lou Gerstner was installed as CEO, just about everyone believed his job would be to divide Big Blue into a dozen Baby Blues. Everyone except Gerstner, who believed his customers needed IBM to be one company. Gerstner launched Operation Bear Hug, sending his top 250 managers to visit at least five customers each. Through those meetings, the leadership of IBM began to see how important their work was—and to understand the changes they could make to add value for their customers. Over time, Bear Hug helped IBM redefine itself as a solutions provider. In less than two years, Gerstner brought IBM back into the black, and the company went on to chart seven years of double-digit revenue growth and profitability. Today, Big Blue's growth engine runs on empathy."

Project Strategist and Innovation

Project Strategist and Innovation: Define the problem, set goals, engage the users, gain insights and solve problems iteratively within a set time frame.