Yup. If you're not talking to customers and hearing the problems on the front line you run the risk of solving problems nobody has. There is a balance though -

Yup. If you're not talking to customers and hearing the problems on the front line you run the risk of solving problems nobody has. There is a balance though - in some cases you have to roll the dice and strike out in bold new directions. But this needs to be done with eyes wide open and everyone in full acknowledgement that this is an experiment and conversations with users are the next step.