What did Henry Ford mean?

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
— Henry Ford (apparently)

If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, I’d be a rich man. It’s a quote that seems to divide people into two camps: the “No way! We shouldn’t ask customers what they want because they don’t know” group versus the “Hell yeah! We should always give customers what they want” group.

If you’re in the Digital Product space, it’s highly likely that you would have heard or will hear someone referencing that quote. Often it is referenced to convey two totally different arguments. This is my take on the infamous “Henry Ford” quote.

1. “If I had asked people what they wanted…”

Don’t.

Well, let me rephrase that. Don’t ask people what they want. Ask people what they are struggling with. What are their pain points? What problems do they wish to be solved for them? Understand them better.

As Product People, our job is not to ask our customers what solutions they want. Our job is to develop a solution to best solve their problems.

In 2018, I was working on a design research assignment in India. Together with three other Designers, I was tasked to design a digital solution for Service Technicians to streamline their workflow.

We started off doing customer interviews, understanding more about the life of these technicians, and the challenges they face when doing their job. When we synthesized our findings, one common theme surfaced. These technicians indicated that videos would best help them with troubleshooting the machines (yes, we did ask them what they wanted :) I’ll expand more on this below). And initially, we agreed. As an efficient and effective way of communicating, videos did make sense.

Boo-ya! Let’s put videos in our solution! Right?

Hold your horses.

Remember — our job is not to ask people what they want. Our job is to develop the best solution for our customers, given their unique set of circumstances.

To deepen our understanding of our customers, we undertook several ‘ride-along’ research trips, essentially putting ourselves in their shoes. What is it actually like when they are dispatched to troubleshoot an incident? What does the environment look like?

A couple of significant findings surfaced:
- The technicians usually travel on a crowded and noisy bus to their job site, often encountering some unexpected delays.
- They often operate in the basement, where other heavy machinery is located.

So… what about the videos?

Well, their bus commute clearly doesn’t provide a good space to watch videos. Then, on-site in the basement, internet connection is spotty at best. Being surrounded by other machinery, nothing is very audible. To top it off, the smartphones they own are not of a high spec.

It’s safe to say that we didn’t propose video functionality as part of our digital solution.

2. “…they would have said faster horses”

Would they have? This is an assumption.

I mean they may have said faster horses, or more comfortable carriages, or better coachmen... They could have said anything. The point is, people don’t know what they don’t know. Customers are experts in the problem space, not the solution space.

As Product People, our job is to figure out the latter.

In this instance, the customer problem is about getting from point A to point B. How might we help people get from A to B in the fastest and most comfortable way? The solution could be anything.

Throughout my research projects in China, I found that the customers we interviewed couldn’t articulate a solution. We asked them to draw or at least explain what a solution might look like, often to no avail. The ones that could, usually described something that they were already familiar with — e.g. the functionality or interface of another product.

Instead, ask people how they want the outcome to be, and more importantly, why? In my opinion, this would reap better insights for your product development.

Regardless of whether this quote was actually said or who said it, and whether you agree or disagree, I think it provides a valuable discussion point for Product People.

The main thing is to understand your customers’ problems. Understand their circumstances and environment. Then design a solution that is desirable (and usable) for your customers, feasible to build, and viable for the business.

What is your interpretation of this quote? And how has it been applicable (or not) in your product journey?

Would love to hear your thoughts. Let’s connect.