I've seen this quotes many times, and it's only today that it occurred to me that it's being incorrectly applied
hristov is talking about customers Traysoft already has and who are using his product. Henry Ford is talking about potential customers who aren't using his product, who've never seen his product and who don't know anything about his product (or anything like it). Big difference
True, but this wasn't made clear, so I felt the need to "debunk". "Ask your customers what they want" is a common startup catch phrase, and while it does apply in many situations, it isn't as clear-cut and true as many seem to think.
It belongs in the same bin as "execution is everything," "ideas are meaningless" and "you need a cofounder to succeed." Useful and oftentimes true, but by no means a universal truth.
The problem with Ford's quote is that the customer offers a solution. In such a case you need to ask further questions to find out the problem he wants to solve. Had Henry Ford realized that, he would have found out customers wanted to get from A to B faster and he wouldn't have quipped this silly 'they want a faster Horse'. They didn't actually want a faster horse. As soon as you understand the problem, you're free to come up with innovative solutions.
There are still a few exceptions though: you can create a new market by appealing to a need people didn't have until you offered a solution. Fashion, fads (including fads for children), arguably Twitter,...
