We live in the feedback era. Internet companies have an ever-expanding arsenal of tools at their disposal for gathering user insights. Social media can be used by pretty much any business to garner valuable sentiment about their brand, online analytics tools can harvest a vast amount of data and user metrics, and even brick and mortar stores will soon be using clever innovations like beacons to do similar things.

No wonder it's tempting then for companies to place sizable chunks of their product development strategy in the hands of their users. In my experience startups are particularly inclined to adopt this approach; many use the lean methodology made famous in Eric Ries's book, The Lean Startup.

What can go wrong? Users not only provide direction, they also form a safety net to catch your product if it falls. I've observed these principles being applied from within many companies. Having read the book and used the methodology myself, I think it's an entirely reasonable strategy.

But what about innovation? It's a much debated topic, but can we develop truly innovative products from the ground up while listening to users? In my opinion caution should be applied.

Startups and established companies alike shouldn't allow user feedback to stifle innovation. Knowing your audience is important and thorough research is absolutely crucial but building a product in this way will at best meet users' expectations. It's no secret that innovation is key to building a competitive and ultimately high growth business, particularly pertinent in fast-moving environments like the tech industry.

Of course, there's no proven strategy for innovating in a user-centred way, and by no means do I intend to find one, but there are a few pointers we can use to create an environment conducive to innovation while accommodating for a limited amount of user feedback.

Confidence, vision and people



An audacious, creative, forward-thinking leader with a clear vision and rock solid team should push a product at least halfway up the hill. This is a role that should be played by the CEO or product lead.

Not all creativity comes from above though. The team needs to be aligned to the same vision and structured to encourage valuable ideas and innovations to bubble up from below. I find that the most creative and applicable ideas come from within a team where there are passionate stakeholders with considerable understanding of the project. Why look to users for early stage input when you can look across the room and get feedback 10 times more relevant and a lot more valuable?

Know when to involve users



There are some cases when gathering early feedback is crucial. After all, users are undoubtedly the most important asset of an internet company; no one wants to build a useless product. In this case the role of users needs to be very clearly defined. Actionable feedback should be identified and filtered out from the noise.

I believe that the most logical and valuable time to involve users is after most of the heavy lifting has taken place. They can be a great help in fine tuning the more superficial aspects of a product; the interface, layout, information architecture and so forth.

Stop following



Stop observing and start creating. Building a product on top of existing usage patterns might attract some attention, but it's not sustainable and will never be truly groundbreaking.

It's time to think for ourselves. Companies shouldn't be mislead in trying to fit within today's user centred paradigms. Considerable competitive advantage and long term growth can be achieved by stepping away from these humanistic norms, maximising innovation through good old fashioned design driven development.

Richard Francis is a web and mobile consultant from London. Follow Richard on Twitter @rich186

To get weekly news analysis, job alerts and event notifications direct to your inbox, sign up free for Media Network membership.

All Guardian Media Network content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled 'Advertisement feature'. Find out more here.