Sometimes you have to ignore your audience

"If I would have asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses ." -Henry Ford

I love this quote. Why? Simple, Henry Ford didn't have anyone clamoring at him to create the automobile. In fact it didn't make any sense to his audience. But he knew deep down somewhere that the car would create huge opportunities and propel the US forward.

In today's world of focus groups and audience response, we are so defined by what our audience wants. We cannot imagine a context that isn't defined by our customers. But the reality is that the really great innovations did not come about by listening to focus groups. They came about by people responding to that gut level feeling about what was needed "for such a time as this."

I'm not saying that focus groups are bad. But I am saying that just because people don't think they need an innovation doesn't mean you shouldn't develop it. Look at the world around you, look at the challenges and issues of your generation and create out of that opportunity!