Think like the customer. You are not the customer.

I'm reading this great book called, "The Art of the Start", by Guy Kawasaki. It's a no fluff guide to getting a startup company off the ground. There's several great lines in this book, but one that particularly got me was this:

Apparently, DELL has a sign in their office that says, "Think like the customer" in big bold letters. Not too far from it is another sign that says, "You are not the customer". Brilliant.

I think that it's a mistake to let customers design products. Anyone see the Simpsons episode about the car that Homer built? Customers aren't usually designers. BUT... You can't be a good designer without understanding them...