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The story of Henry Ford and the Model T exemplifies the importance of balancing customer feedback with visionary thinking. Customers often ask for incremental improvements—like "faster horses"—but transformative innovation requires seeing beyond their explicit requests. Product managers must dig deeper to understand true customer needs and be bold enough to deliver creative solutions that customers might not yet imagine. This balance between listening to feedback and following a vision is crucial to developing impactful products that can redefine industries.
The journey of building their innovative products is often marked by a struggle between what customers say they want and what in-fact they truly need. As a product manager, sitting in the murky waters between technical capabilities, business needs, and customer pain points you will undoubtedly be balancing your unbridled creativity in the solution space with managing expectations of your customers in the problem space. The following story of Henry Ford is a powerful reminder of the impact of visionary thinking paired with a true understanding of a customer's painpoints.
During the early 20th century, horses and carriages were the main form of transportation, with cars seen as luxury items only accessible to the famous and wealthy. However, there was a man with a vision of transforming society by making automobiles affordable to the masses—his name was Henry Ford.
Ford’s insight was that people needed a new, more efficient way to move from point A to point B. After assessing the issue, he determined that improving the existing solution of horses and carriages would not suffice. His answer was the Model T, the first automobile ever mass-produced using assembly line techniques, which rolled off the line on October 1, 1908. This method of mass production drastically reduced the manufacturing cost of cars, making them affordable for average-income families. Also known as the "Tin Lizzie," the Model T quickly became one of the most influential vehicles in automotive history, with Ford’s innovation forever changing the industry.
Ford knew that the solution lay not in improving what people already had, but in giving them something they hadn’t yet imagined. Between 1908 and 1927, over 15 million Model T cars were produced, and at its peak, the Model T accounted for nearly half of all cars on the road worldwide. Ford worked tirelessly toward his vision of creating cars that the average family could afford, despite critics who insisted that it was impossible. Reflecting on the success of the Model T and the inspiration behind it, Ford declared, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
Unfortunately, there is no direct documentation in speeches, interviews, or books, where Ford explicitly said his famous phrase. It is widely believed to be an apocryphal quote, perhaps invented to embody Ford’s radical thinking and ability to think creatively beyond incremental improvements as a visionary.
Despite not explicitly saying “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”. One notable statement from Ford that aligns with this thinking is: "I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one." This reflected his vision of moving beyond the needs people could articulate and transform the industry entirely which the Model T did indeed achieve.
The spirit of the quote reflects the fact that people often request improvements in familiar terms. If Ford had asked potential customers about their transportation challenges, they likely would have expressed their needs in terms they understood—such as wanting a "faster horse" to cut down on travel time.
Ford’s innovation was to reframe the problem. Instead of working on making horses faster, he saw the potential to create a completely new category of personal transportation that could perform the job much more efficiently and transform people’s lives.
Customer feedback is often at the core of product management, but as highlighted by the story of faster horses, it’s not without its own unique set of challenges. Customers are usually great at explaining their problems, but struggle to clearly articulate genuine solutions. For product managers, the job isn’t just to listen and define problems, but to read between the lines and identify underlying pain points (ones which may not even be known by the customer themselves). It’s typical to have solutions recommended with incremental changes because users think in terms of what they already know - how many times have you heard a customer say “if only this feature was available, then I’d have everything I need” only to then have the next feature highlighted a week after launch. Just like the people of Ford’s time might have wanted “faster horses”, customers today might ask for small improvements which fall short of solving the real problem.
For the modern product manager, one of the biggest challenges is filtering through huge columns of customer feedback to distil the true problems that need solving. This feedback can often be vague, conflicting, or centred around short-term desires. Understanding what to act on, and when to trust vision instead, is a delicate balancing act.
A big part of balancing vision and feedback is understanding the real issue that you, as product manager, are solving. Before diving into the solution, it’s imperative that time is spent gaining a deep understanding of the true pain point, rather than symptomatic pain points. Product managers are in constant dialogue with customers, but collecting actionable feedback requires both structure and creativity. Here are a few key aspects of collecting customer feedback to consider:
Ford’s breakthrough with the Model T clearly wasn’t driven by what his customers explicitly asked for—it was driven by a vision. Product managers today must be similarly inspired. Vision-driven decision making means understanding the broader context of your product, the market, and where society is heading.
One way to build vision-driven decision making is to keep asking "Why?" to get to the root of customer problems. Another car manufacturer, Toyota, famously used the "Five Whys" to identify the underlying issue behind problems. This technique can also help product managers see the bigger picture—to identify whether what customers are really asking for is actually aligned with a larger, transformational opportunity.
Balancing vision with customer needs means knowing when to push forward with an idea that’s bigger than the immediate wants of users, and when to pull back and deliver the incremental improvements that make customers happier. When you’re too focused on customer needs, you risk losing your unique point of view and competing on features alone. When you focus too much on vision, you risk creating something that no one wants or understands.
The key is to set a long-term vision while being flexible enough to meet short-term customer needs. Set clear goals for the product and then ask yourself: does this feedback help us achieve that vision, or does it distract us from it? Henry Ford’s vision wasn’t just to make a better carriage—it was to revolutionise how people moved. Product managers need a similarly bold outlook, paired with the humility to listen deeply to the needs of the users they serve.
The story of Henry Ford is inspiring due to the clear vision of one individual and how it changed society. As technological possibilities continue to grow and advance, it's truly an exciting time to be in product management. To look retrospectively at more recent history, there are clear examples of modern day visionaries taking the essence of Ford and applying it to their own field.
The story of Henry Ford and the Model T serves as a powerful reminder for product managers to focus on visionary innovation rather than just incremental improvements. Ford didn’t simply try to create a "faster horse"; he reinvented personal transportation, making cars affordable to the masses. This highlights the importance of understanding the core problem rather than settling for familiar solutions. Customers are good at articulating their pain points, but they often suggest changes in terms they understand, which can limit the potential for true breakthroughs. Product managers must learn to read between the lines, challenging themselves to envision the broader possibilities beyond what customers explicitly ask for. Striking the right balance between customer feedback and product vision is key to building transformative products - products that redefine industries rather than simply refining what's already there. As product managers, it’s crucial to remember that great innovation often stems from thinking beyond what customers can imagine and solving problems in bold, unexpected ways.
The story of Henry Ford highlights the importance of visionary thinking in product management. Ford’s approach to creating the Model T was not about improving existing transportation (faster horses) but about reimagining the entire solution. Product managers should understand the real problem their customers are facing and be willing to create innovative solutions that customers might not initially envision.
Customers usually think in terms of what they know, which is why they often suggest incremental improvements. They can effectively describe their pain points, but they may lack the perspective or creativity to envision a transformative solution. It’s the product manager's job to uncover these deeper, often unspoken needs, and translate them into meaningful innovations.
Not necessarily. Product managers must strike a balance between customer feedback and visionary thinking. Customer feedback provides valuable insights into real pain points and user experiences, but the product manager must evaluate whether the requests align with the product's long-term vision or are simply incremental changes. Sometimes the right decision is an incremental improvement, and sometimes it’s a bold new direction.
The key is to focus on understanding the core problem rather than accepting the suggested solution at face value. Asking open-ended questions like "What challenges are you facing?" instead of "Would you like this feature?" helps you dig deeper into the problem. Techniques like the "Five Whys" can also help uncover the underlying pain points, guiding you to a solution that addresses the root cause.
Balancing vision and customer feedback is crucial for a successful product. Too much emphasis on customer feedback can lead to feature creep and a loss of the product’s unique value proposition. Conversely, focusing solely on vision without understanding customer needs can lead to products that are disconnected from the market. The key is to integrate customer insights into a larger strategic vision that drives innovation while solving real problems.
Vision-driven decision-making requires an understanding of the broader market context, future trends, and customer needs. Product managers should:
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