claims Henry Ford once said, "If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
That "Henry Ford" Quote… "If I’d have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said, ‘A faster horse.’" — Henry Ford? While there’s doubt that Ford ever said this, it’s something he might have said. Designers tend to hear this when we suggest doing User Research to determine needs and pain points. "If I’d have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse is what Henry Ford said and he was extremely successful so it’s a waste of time" Please read this article from HBR about why his initial success was predicated on price reduction and the implementation (smartly) of the assembly line (something he didn’t invent) because it discusses his initial success with the first mass produced car, but also points out that General Motors ate his lunch in the 20’s. [...] So imagine you’re sitting in a conference room and you suggest that doing User Research will help advance the product and someone says: "If I’d have asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse"…