[mpweiher]

And of course there is the old: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." (and there is apparently no evidence that Henry Ford actually uttered those words)

While talking to, and most of all listening to customers is important, it too easily leads to building things that people know they want/need. Something truly "revolutionary" is unlikely with that method. Of course, something truly revolutionary is highly unlikely, period. So if your primary motivation is business success, you probably want to stay away from going for "revolutionary". On the other hand, it's not a given that business success has to be motivator or primary goal.

[bambax]

When talking with customers, focus on the problem, not the solution. The problem: going from here to there takes too long. There are many solutions to that problem. Faster horses are one of them. Cars another. Telephone, flying cars yet another. Not going is also a solution. Etc.