Don’t change the dog food without talking to the dog

In other words, do not go to the market with your new product or service (or change the existing one) before you fully understand what the customer wants. (Note: Do not ever let the customer know you’re referring to him or her as a dog.) It can also describe making personnel policy changes that might adversely affect employees without thinking through the changes first.

Use: “We knew we had changed the dog food without talking to the dog after sales plunged on our revamped formula, which we had not consumer tested well enough.”