It's The Same Two Blind Spots. Again & Again.

Across the world's leading ultra-luxury brands, I've encountered the same two blind spots. Again and again.

I've seen them in boardrooms worldwide, among executives whose expertise is beyond question.

20+ years in luxury retail. You've mastered luxury retail.

20+ years in private aviation. You've mastered private aviation.

20+ years in private wealth. You've mastered private wealth.

20+ years in hospitality. You've mastered hospitality.

20+ years in private clubs. You've mastered private clubs.

That hard-earned knowledge produces exceptional operators, formidable commercial judgment and an instinct for industry intricacies that only decades of experience can develop.

It is enormously valuable.

And it comes with two big blind spots.

First: I see this in strategy sessions constantly. Executives and their teams present meticulously constructed plans to elevate client experiences, grow VIP clientele and distinguish their brands, with ten carefully articulated reasons why their approach is distinctive. They're proud of what they've built and convinced they're raising the bar.

And I'm thinking: In the last 60 days, I've heard nine of your competitors describe nearly the same ambitions, the same innovations, the same supposed advantages.

I cannot overstate how pervasive this is.

People talk endlessly about what's wrong with luxury.

This is what's wrong with luxury.

But that's only half of it. Here's what makes that first blind spot so costly:

I've just come from a wealth management firm delivering an experience that runs circles around yours in luxury retail. You don't know it exists. Your client does. They're living with both experiences and judging you accordingly.

The first blind spot: industries develop their standards, vocabulary and definitions of excellence largely among themselves. Their clients don't.

The second blind spot is even more serious. After decades inside a category, you become extraordinarily fluent in the client behaviors relevant to your business. You can mistake that fluency for understanding the client.

In a private aviation workshop recently, a VP stopped me. He hadn't realized how widespread those behaviors and expectations were across his UHNW client base- or how much of his clients' lives his industry never truly sees.

“We've completely missed the boat even though we thought we were number 1. We must raise our game.”

That's not a failure of aviation expertise. It is the consequence of seeing a person primarily through the transactions and relationships your industry happens to own, then building your entire customer strategy around that incomplete picture.

Your 20+ years of industry knowledge matter. Immensely.

But your affluent client has spent those same 20+ years living a life far beyond your industry.

Which of you has the more complete picture?

Now imagine what becomes possible when you both do.