The issue isn’t that people asked for faster horses. It’s that “What do you want?” is a terrible research question.

Ask these instead:

• What’s frustrating about traveling with your horse?
• Tell me about the last time you needed to go somewhere far away.
• What stops you from traveling more often?
• How does weather affect your trips?

Good research uncovers problems. It reveals pain points. It helps you understand what people are actually struggling with in their daily lives. What they’re working around. What they’ve given up on entirely.

Here’s the irony: the same people who quote Henry Ford to avoid user research are now using AI to build products faster than ever.

How to understand users?

• ask about the past, not the future
• focus on behavior, not opinions.
• dig into the why
• listen for emotion