Product Myth 101 “… faster horses” — Is Henry Ford to Blame?
If you are a Product Manager, or even if you are not, I’m sure you have heard the following quote “Henry Ford said if he asked his customers what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. This phrase is usually used to demonstrate the lack of value in speaking to your customer base. In this blog I’m going to do my part to highlight some fundamental issues with this stance.
It’s Henry Ford’s Fault!
Its worth remembering that Henry Ford wasn’t developing a new product, he didn’t even produce the first mass produced automobile, however he did create a very efficient production methodology.
The design of the model T didn’t actually change between 1908 to 1927 however this may not be explained by the product being the best, but in contrast it was the most affordable. This focus on lower production costs was the cause for its success but also its downfall as the Ford share of the automobile market dropped from almost 66% in 1921 to 15% in 1927 when competitors began creating vehicles which where designed to meet the needs of specific customer segments- basically manufacturers who listened to their customers.
Reading between the lines
In this analogy then the hypothetical customer has already provided foundations for defining the problem- i.e. Faster horses. There is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to Product Development and understanding the problem you are trying to solve. Every aspect of understanding comes with its own assumptions, cognitive biases and prejudices against potential solutions. To get to the best possible solution we need to validate assumptions, navigate past cognitive bias and remove and prejudice that can obscure the view of the facts.
What is meant by Faster?
Top speed, Acceleration, Less stopping required: By looking beyond the framing of the proposed solution then a greater understanding of the problem can be achieved, and can help define a smarter solution.
Why do they use a horse?
Accessibility, familiarity, affordability, infrastructure: Understanding why the proposed solution is being used, how’s it being framed. A horse is analogous to a lot of different attributes. Understand the attributes and find out what is important.
What does a horse do?
Personal transport, Goods transport, Leisure, Business: Different use cases will sometimes require different solutions, however customers will compromise on specific requirements for different reasons.
Put it back together
We could see a solution that means a method of transporting goods and people which is accessible and affordable with a higher top speed than current methods, benchmarked against a horse.
The sinister truth
After all this however we get to the sinister truth that this statement doesn’t actually have any basis in reality. Numerous researchers have tried to find the source for this quote but to no avail and according to the Harvard Business Review the first time this quote emerged was 2003.
So I’m sorry Henry Ford, faster horses have nothing to do with you after all.
Hopefully that’s the last time you’ll ever have to read about it. As always happy to receive any comments or insights, feel free to message me if you want to discuss anything in further detail. Happy ‘producting’
Written by David W Barnes
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
