Steve Jobs: Limits of Customer Research
Two Jobs lines about the limits , or the limiting effects of, customer research:
It took us three years to build the NeXT computer. If we’d given customers what they said they wanted, we’d have built a computer they’d have been happy with a year after we spoke to them - not something they’d want now.
You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.