Paying Attention to Opinions?

There's a very popular opinion out there that real leaders make a decision and run with it, despite the calls from the penny-stinkers.

A couple of sites popped up recently that have personal (and professional) interest for me:

Longhorn Screenshots

IE7 Screenshots

Ok, lots of people have weighed in... some hate, some like, some really hate, etc. Now, my question is, if you're a "leader" what do you do with that information? Do you take it all in and change your product as a response to the community? Do you get the product out, knowing that you've done research on your own that says x, y or z? It's a fine line between ignoring public opinion and executing based on a vision.