Customer Research, Innovation and the “Faster Horses” Conundrum

Why did some of history’s greatest innovators—the visionaries who gave us cars, smartphones, and other groundbreaking technologies—seem so reluctant to ask customers what they wanted? Henry Ford famously said, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said faster horses.” Steve Jobs, likewise, shunned traditional customer research. Yet these same innovators had an uncanny knack for creating products that met needs people didn’t even realize they had. Was it luck? Genius? Or did they know something crucial about how to listen to customers—without letting them lead?

This puzzle goes to the heart of a larger question: how do you create something truly innovative when customers often frame their wants in terms of what they already know? As we’ll see, Ford and Jobs weren’t ignoring customers; they were listening differently. The key lies in understanding the difference between what customers think they want and what they truly need. By drawing the line between the customer problem space and the product solution space, we’ll uncover the real approach that drives successful innovation: learning from customers’ struggles without letting them dictate the solution.

But there’s a deeper lesson here. This approach highlights the essential—and often misunderstood—relationship between research and innovation. Research and innovation are inextricably linked, but each plays a distinct role. Research excels in the customer problem space, uncovering real-life customer needs and frustrations. Innovation, in turn, thrives in the product solution space, where new ideas, driven by insight and creativity, transform those needs into powerful products. As we’ll see, the balance between these two realms lies at the heart of successful innovation.

The Allure—and Danger—of “Faster Horses”

When Henry Ford supposedly said, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said faster horses,” he wasn’t being flippant. His point was that people’s vision for the future is often limited by their experiences in the present. For his customers in the early 20th century, transportation meant horses, wagons, and trains. They were intimately familiar with the challenges of this setup: horses were slow, high-maintenance, and required constant rest. Naturally, if asked how to improve transportation, customers could only imagine “faster horses”—they simply couldn’t conceive of the automobile as a possibility.

Ford’s genius wasn’t in dismissing customers but in understanding their underlying problems more deeply than they did themselves. He knew they needed faster, more reliable, and affordable ways to travel; he just didn’t believe the solution was an upgraded horse. Instead, he reimagined the solution entirely, giving them a car—something radically new that addressed their need for speed and reliability on a completely different level.

By focusing on the customer problem space (people’s need for efficient travel) rather than letting customers define the product solution space (faster horses), Ford took the reins, quite literally, of a new industry. This approach allowed him to go beyond incremental improvement and deliver something transformational. The key lesson? Customers often have excellent insights into their own problems, but they aren’t always able to envision the solutions that will best solve those problems.

Steve Jobs and Apple: Listening Without Asking

Ford wasn’t the only innovator to take this approach. A century later, Steve Jobs built Apple on a similar foundation. Jobs famously avoided conventional customer research, opting instead for a ethnographically-driven approach that he believed could give customers something they didn’t even know they wanted. But does that mean he didn’t listen to customers at all? Not quite. He watched!

Jobs understood that observing customers can be far more revealing than simply asking them what they wanted. He once said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Like Ford, he realised that customer insights are often trapped within familiar boundaries. People could tell you about their frustrations with their current devices, but they are unable to articulate a need for a completely new kind of device, like the iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

To unlock these insights, Jobs relied on observation and intuition. And Apple stores served as ethnographic spaces —not to ask customers for product ideas, but to watch how they interacted with existing products. Jobs wanted to understand their frustrations, likes, dislikes, and how they physically engaged with technology. By immersing himself in this problem space, Jobs could identify the pain points and latent needs that weren’t being addressed. Then, when it came to the product solution space, he took ownership, using his own vision and Apple’s design-driven culture to develop products that solved those problems in innovative ways.

Jobs wasn’t ignoring the customer; he was simply refusing to ask them for a solution. He knew his job was to solve the problem, not take orders.

Understanding the Customer Problem Space vs. the Product Solution Space

This distinction between the problem space and the solution space is key to understanding how great innovators listen and/or see differently. When we talk about the problem space, we’re focused on identifying and understanding customers’ core needs, frustrations, and desires. Think of it as mining for the raw material of insights—gathering unfiltered, real-life struggles, and aspirations that can spark innovation. This is where customers are invaluable; they are living the problem and have an intuitive sense of what isn’t working.

In contrast, the solution space is where innovators apply their expertise, vision, and creativity to solve those problems. This is where it becomes the innovator’s job to move beyond what’s familiar and invent something new. It’s not about asking, “What would you like?” but rather understanding, “What would solve your problem in a powerful way?”

Research and Innovation: Inextricably Linked Yet Distinct Roles

The relationship between research and innovation lies at the core of this distinction. Research is deeply embedded in the customer problem space, capturing the needs, pain points, and experiences of real customers. Research methods like interviews, ethnographic observations, surveys, and feedback allow innovators to build a solid understanding of the issues that matter most to customers. Without this deep grounding in research, innovation risks becoming untethered —creating flashy solutions that don’t resonate because they’re not well enough connected to real customer needs.

But innovation comes into its own in the solution space. This is where the creative leap happens, transforming insights from the problem space into actionable, often surprising solutions. Innovation depends on insight and intuition; it thrives on experimentation, iteration, and sometimes a touch of audacity. The best innovations come not by letting customers design the solution but by letting the research guide innovators’ intuition, imagination, and expertise to create something new and powerful.

The two processes aren’t isolated, though. Just as research leads innovation by pointing to real, unmet needs, innovation supports research by testing and validating ideas in the real world. Once an initial solution is created, research is critical for gathering feedback, observing usage, and refining the product until it meets the needs that drove its creation. This continuous loop between research and innovation ensures that each step of the process remains grounded in customer reality and that solutions stay aligned with the evolving needs of the people they serve.

The Risk of Letting Customers Define Solutions

What happens when we let customers dictate solutions? The risk is that customers often present what they “want” in terms of familiar fixes or minor improvements, rather than uncovering the real issues that drive their needs. When they tell us their problem, they’re often offering up a pre-packaged product solution—one that’s usually rooted in current constraints and perspectives. This is the heart of the “faster horses” dilemma. Had Ford listened literally, he would have poured resources into breeding faster horses or building more comfortable carriages. But Ford saw that these suggestions were merely surface responses, hints at a much deeper, unmet need.

Consider an example from the K-12 educational market. Teachers often ask publishers for “more PowerPoints” to help them communicate a specific concept using familiar software; and they may even say, “The problem is we don’t have enough PowerPoints.” This seems clear-cut, but there’s an underlying issue here: more PowerPoints isn’t a problem in itself—it’s a solution they’ve reached based on their current perception of their needs. When teachers treat “not enough PowerPoints” as the problem, they’re conflating the need for effective teaching tools (a potential problem) with one specific type of resource (a potential solution).

So, what’s the real problem? When you dig deeper, you find that teachers use PowerPoints in a variety of ways to address different needs: some want digital materials to captivate students at the beginning of lessons, others need tools for revision support, some want interactive slides that students can engage with independently, and many value PowerPoints for the flexibility to customise materials to fit their style or supplement with other content. In each case, PowerPoints are simply one solution for these diverse needs, not the need itself.

This reveals why publishers need to be careful when conducting customer research. By separating the problem space (teachers’ diverse instructional needs) from the solution space (PowerPoints as a solution among many), publishers can innovate in a way that genuinely meets and elevates the teaching experience.

The Innovator’s Guide to Listening Differently

So, does all this mean you shouldn’t ask customers for input? Absolutely not. It simply means you need to listen differently. Here’s a summary guide to getting the most valuable insights from customers—without falling into the “faster horses” trap:

1. Dive Deep into the Problem Space: Don’t start with solutions; start by asking customers about their challenges, pain points, and frustrations. What are they struggling with? What do they wish could be easier? Listen for patterns and repeated issues that indicate a real need.

2. Look for Latent Needs: These are the problems customers might not articulate directly but reveal through their behaviour. Steve Jobs uncovered latent needs by observing people’s frustrations with clunky interfaces and limited functionality on devices. In K-12 publishing, for instance, you might notice that teachers spend hours customising content for different reading levels—indicating a need for tools that support differentiated teaching.

3. Take Ownership of the Solution Space: Once you’ve thoroughly explored the problem, it’s your job to take control of the solution. Don’t let the customer’s suggestions define what you build; instead, use their needs as inspiration to think beyond what’s currently available. This is where breakthroughs happen.

4. Test and Validate with Customers:

 Even after you’ve developed a solution, you still need to validate it in the market. Customers can’t necessarily dream up your product, but they can tell you if it meets their needs. Testing prototypes, getting feedback, and iterating based on real-world usage helps ensure that the final product solves the problem effectively.

The Real Answer to the “Faster Horses” Puzzle

So, back to our original question: why were Ford, Jobs, and other iconic innovators so cautious about asking customers what they wanted? It wasn’t because they dismissed the customer’s perspective. Quite the opposite—they understood that successful innovation starts with listening to customers’ needs, not their proposed solutions.

Ford knew people wanted faster, more reliable ways to get around; he just didn’t think the answer was horses. Jobs knew people wanted better access to music, photos, and the internet; he just didn’t think the answer was a slightly improved CD player or cell phone. They both understood the problem space deeply and let their imagination and vision transform the solution space.

In the end, true innovation lies in recognising that customers hold invaluable insights—just not the blueprints. By listening closely to their frustrations and needs, you unlock the real demand that drives great products. Then, it’s up to you, the innovator, to dream beyond the “faster horses” and deliver solutions that really land with your customers.