Too many consumer electronics makers perceive themselves in ways that don’t align with reality.

In the last couple of months, I’ve seen numerous examples of both of these situations:

• Unfounded Overconfidence: Significant players in the consumer electronics space overestimating their ability to gain customers and market share. Their perception of their products’ and people’s abilities were too positive. Reality is determined by what consumers actually buy. In at least one case, a lot of smart people said the product probably wouldn’t make it. The product launched anyway. The product isn’t making it.

• Unfounded Insecurities: Significant players in the consumer electronics space underestimating their positioning in the market. Their view of themselves is significantly worse than, and less capable than,  consumers’ view. Consumers perceive these companies more positively than they perceive themselves!

In consumer electronics, overconfidence often results in dramatic, explosive product failures.

Insecurity, on the other hand, creates a much slower death — keeping potentially excellent companies mired in mediocrity.

Both misperceptions are dangerous and very expensive, literally costing many millions of dollars.

As such, one of the most important things consumer electronics executives can do is to align internal perceptions of the company with market realities.

Of course, this assumes the executives’ own perceptions are aligned!