There’s a well-known quote by Henry Ford that goes like this, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” It’s fair to note that some don’t believe he actually said that, but let’s go with it.

Ford is often cited when naysayers tell us that customers don’t know what they want, i.e., customers can’t help us innovate because they just want faster horses; they believe that some visionary can create a better product. The problem is, these visionaries don’t come along every day.

To the faster horses I say, “That’s what happens when you ask the wrong question!” This is an issue that I’ve been calling the “Henry Ford Principle” in recent conversations.

In truth, most customers don’t know what they want and that’s OK. They don’t know what they want because they’re focused on what they’re trying to do, not on designing products—that’s your job. You can solve that problem for them—not knowing what they want—by designing a product to help them do what they’re trying to do. Then you’ll sell some products and have very happy customers.

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