“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses’” – Henry Ford
It’s unknown if Ford actually said that quote, but it’s fun to think he did. If it’s true, then we can infer that sometimes the customer actually ISN’T always right. We might actually know more than they do.
But in another sense, we often fall into the trap of assuming that the status quo will last forever and therefore we shouldn’t shift our thinking, plan for contingencies, or develop a vision for the future. This is pretty dangerous.
It all comes down to the question of determining the difference between WANTS and NEEDS. Supposedly, if Ford actually made the above statement, people WANTED what they were most comfortable with and failed to see the NEED for a more efficient means of travel. Ford saw people stuck in a pattern that would eventually fail them when horse travel became outmoded.
We are no different.
- My parents refused to sell their home even when it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to afford the mortgage when they both stopped working or when one of them died. My mom WANTED to maintain her comfortable lifestyle when in fact she NEEDED to plan for the future.
- We’ll stay in a comfortable job because we WANT stability even though it’s clear that the industry is changing and our skillsets are rapidly losing value. We actually NEED to proactively move out of our comfort level and shift careers and companies.
- We WANT our kids to be independent and resilient so we over-protect them when we NEED them to fail and fend for themselves in order to build some confidence and life skills.
As complicated as it seems, life really is a series of choices and decisions. Since we control those, we have a greater command of our destiny than we think. One of those key choices is that of the WANT and the NEED. Do a better job of evaluating that and you find that success becomes a more frequent experience.