Usually when you read an article about Steve Jobs, this Henry Ford quote is not far behind:

“If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

It’s great. A few simple words sum up the perception we would like to believe about such an enigmatic man. But what an at-first-glance, shortsighted, and under-accurate approximation of the truth.

The quote initially summons the stereotype of an egomaniacal perfectionist who believes he knows better than the users themselves what they want. The old adage “The customer is always right” flies right out the nearest window. In fact, Ford isn’t even asking the customers- rather, he’s assuming he already knows the answer.

We might sum up the quote as saying, “They don’t know what the hell they want, so I’ll pick for them.”

But if we look deeper we might get to the middle of the quote’s true meaning. The average person spends their time doing the things that are most important to them. They don’t spend every waking hour thinking about how to make products they use better. It’s someone else’s job to put the perfect product in their laps. So for the product-maker to presume they “know better” than the consumer is not presumptuous- it is most likely accurate… as long as a few conditions are met.

• The decisions must be made based on usefulness and joy of the user- not based on profit for the company.

Ok… well… actually not several conditions. Just the one.

Steve Jobs is an ambassador for the users of Apple products and has never had a more important role at the company. Jobs sees what Apple users do, listens to what they talk about, and implements solutions before the customers even know they are about to complain.

Like Henry Ford, he does not presume to know more than the users, nor does he think they themselves know what decisions might most beneficially affect their lives. He simply thinks that it is job to apply his quite profound taste, and knowledge to make sure that the user is represented during the legislative process of making new products and apps at Apple.

Regardless if it offends employees, bruises egos, causes delays, or decreases margins, he is a devout consumer advocate within those four walls. What a great job, and what an often neglected role in modern companies. Does your company have a user ambassador?