"You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new."
Jobs has said more than one time something along the line of what he commented on above.
What he's saying is that he's unaware of what trends might be happening in the marketplace, I think that's a given for Jobs. What he's saying is we've got to take the trend and project out what the next step beyond it will be.
The iPod, for example, wasn't exactly a new idea in the sense of people walking around listening to music on a device. Neither was the iPhone something new in the sense of it being a way to communicate wirelessly.
Jobs took a couple of these existing desires by people and brought to the next level. People responded because Jobs was able to rightly project what people would want. He understood these devices are were very practical, and then took them to the usual cool design and status level that people were ready to embrace; and he was right.
By the time the customer lets you know what it is you like, somebody has already provided it for them. They are ready for the next generation of whatever it is they're using. That's what Jobs is saying above.
We can anticipate this by simply following the way people have interacted with products in the past. First it can be a curiosity and something to try, then it becomes practical and useful, and last it becomes a status symbol. Those able to introduce products at the various transitional stages of these items will find themselves big winners.
Jobs has a knack of knowing when those transitional times are upon consumers, and responds with the usual smart design and status attributes that people at this stage of the products' history are ready for.
Each of these stages end up in a mature place where they're ready to transition. In the second part of Jobs' career, he's accurately identified when these stages have arrived, and has a product in place to inject into the marketplace.
What's important is to understand the transitional stages and when they're about to arrive. Those that do this right will bring huge winners to the marketplace like Jobs has done with Apple (AAPL).
He even saw when Disney animation had reached this stage and was vulnerable to attack, which he successfully executed through Pixar with animated film after animated film being a huge critical and financial success. He also understood that the animated film market had changed, which he successfully stepped into and provided what consumers wanted to see.
The key is understanding the transitional stages products go through. Jobs is very good at knowing what customers want before they do. It's the reason why he's delighted them year after year with the various products he brings to market.
Other Steve Jobs Resources:
You've got to find what you love
Steve Jobs, Business Personality
Steve Jobs' Greatest Presentation
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