Faster Horses
Steve Jobs died today. Whether you’re a fan of Apple or not, a fan of Steve Jobs or not, there’s really no denying he has changed the world we live in through his innovations. Often called a visionary, innovator, and genius, he made Apple successful, then left, then came back and made it successful again (after making two other successful companies in between).
Jobs is known for using a quote attributed to another innovator, Henry Ford (though there is some speculation as to whether Ford actually said it) and it goes something like this. When talking about the Model-T Ford supposedly said something akin to:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they probably would have said faster horses”
Now, there are arguments on both sides of this issue. One is simply that there is great value in listening to your customers because they can help shape your company and its products.
The other is what Jobs alluded to by saying, how can customers tell you what they want when they have no idea what it is and haven’t even seen it yet because it doesn’t exist.
I’m not here to debate this issue as I believe both sides have merit. If you look at the quote, it is the ‘need’ for faster horses that causes the creation of the car. Without knowing that need, the invention would not occur. Nevertheless, this is not about who’s right or wrong in terms of the quote.
The point of this blog is that Jobs, like perhaps Ford, simply didn’t ask the same question everyone else asked.
Instead of asking, ‘How can we make a horse faster’, or ‘How can we make our main product better’ they asked different questions.
Apple hasn’t made a come back because the world suddenly liked the iMac or Mac Notebooks. It made a come back because of a new device called the iPod and iTunes (a music player before anyone was really doing anything substantial with digital music).
Or the iPhone which revolutionized smart phones and introduced us to applications for our phones.
And of course the iPad which looks to completely rethink the computer industry.
And yes, they then paid attention to their computer product lines, but only after completely changing their focus and asking different question(s) than everyone else was asking.
Steve Jobs was a master of asking different questions while everyone else chased the same answers. Like him or not, he really did change our world. His innovation will be missed. And we all owe him a debt of gratitude for changing our view of technology and life as well.
If you want to change where you are, whether personally or professionally, for your life or your business. It all starts with asking different questions.
Do you really need faster horses?
Photo credit: visualpanic / Foter / CC BY