Henry Ford and a Faster Horse

Henry Ford once said..."If I had asked people what they wanted, they'd have said faster horses."  It's a good thing Henry Ford thought a little crazy and used his mind to think of something different.

Are you giving people what they ask for?  Or are you going that extra step and really understanding what they want and then giving them what they really want?  Many times we ask for something, it is given to us, and only then we realize we didn't really want what we were asking for, we wanted something else.  

For example, packing is a little bit behind (if that is not obvious you haven't walked through production lately).  I have been asking them to hire more people thinking that would automatically give us more production.  Well, because Kim is naive, and thinks I know what I am asking for, she hired more people and thinks I should be happy.  The problem is, I don't really care if they hire more people, what I want is more product packed, even if they do it with less people.  They are getting more packed, this is just avoid example of somebody asking for something and meaning something else.

This can relate to all areas of our business, from sales to production, and our personal lives, from friends to family.  First, what are you asking for that someone is not delivering on?  Are you asking for the right thing?  Second, what are you giving to someone that is not what they want?  Are you understanding what they really want?

I hope this makes you think a little differently when both answering a question or asking a question.

Have a great Thursday,

Chris