“The paradox of Steve Jobs's career is that he had no interest in listening to consumers - he was famously dismissive of market research - yet nonetheless had an amazing sense of what consumers actually wanted.”

Meaning

This reads as a way of describing a rare kind of judgment, not a rejection of other people so much as a confidence that his own sense of what mattered could replace formal research. It points to the tension between listening and leading, and can be taken to mean that insight sometimes comes from seeing beyond what people say they want. It lands when a product maker has to trust instinct over polls.

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Historical Context

Source

Original Language & Translation

Originally said in English.

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