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Here's my problem with people that have heard a few popular quotes and think they understand the whole story: for the first several years the Model T came in se

by parsimo2010 6y ago

Here's my problem with people that have heard a few popular quotes and think they understand the whole story: for the first several years the Model T came in several different colors. It switched to black only because of demand, then eventually they went back to offering multiple colors when they could. Ford only switched to making black cars only when the demand was so high that the production lines couldn't keep up. It wasn't contempt for the customer that made him do it, his choice was either to streamline the production process or to raise prices so that demand would drop. The selling point of his cars were that the common man could afford them, not that they were colorful. He made an appropriate business choice, not some user-hostile choice.

apostacy 6y ago
But I think that quote is usually invoked by people when they blatantly disregard the wishes of their customers. It's just a way to justify "screw the users, they have no idea what they want, I know what they want, because I'm a genius like Henry Ford, and my users are stupid." I heard that Steve Jobs was fond if saying that. And sure, Steve Jobs had a lot of success, but people don't remember his failures as much. Steve Jobs was responsible for the Apple III, a fiasco for Apple computers because Jobs insisted on not having fans in it. He was adamant that the era of fans in computers was over, and the Apple III was a disaster that kept overheating. I am sure that when engineers tried talking Jobs into reconsidering, they just gave them that Henry Ford platitude and dismissed them. I have heard so many times disastrously unpopular UX redesigns and dark patterns were justified with pigheaded platitudes about how stupid users are. So regardless of what Henry Ford himself actually meant at the time, the perception today is that it was justification for disregarding customers.

apostacy 6y ago

But I think that quote is usually invoked by people when they blatantly disregard the wishes of their customers. It's just a way to justify "screw the users, they have no idea what they want, I know what they want, because I'm a genius like Henry Ford, and my users are stupid." I heard that Steve Jobs was fond if saying that. And sure, Steve Jobs had a lot of success, but people don't remember his failures as much. Steve Jobs was responsible for the Apple III, a fiasco for Apple computers because Jobs insisted on not having fans in it. He was adamant that the era of fans in computers was over, and the Apple III was a disaster that kept overheating. I am sure that when engineers tried talking Jobs into reconsidering, they just gave them that Henry Ford platitude and dismissed them. I have heard so many times disastrously unpopular UX redesigns and dark patterns were justified with pigheaded platitudes about how stupid users are. So regardless of what Henry Ford himself actually meant at the time, the perception today is that it was justification for disregarding customers.