Tapping Into the Collective Wisdom of Community to Make Great Products

Barry Libert and Jon Spector

For businesses large and small, it’s no inconsequential decision to let customers dictate what is sold. New product development is among the most important activities any enterprise undertakes. A business lives or dies on the strength of what it offers, and it’s understandable that leaders often resist losing control over the basic nature of the goods they sell.

But there’s much to be said for tapping the collective wisdom of a community—customer or otherwise—for product ideas and improvements. In the case of customers, it gives them a vested interest in the results and all but guarantees they will like—and buy—what they’ve created. You might even ...