Reflection – Storytelling Tool

Challenge:

Experience in the digital advertising space indicates that it is an adaptive and innovative industry, but  one in which opportunities for employing the hallmarks of design thinking for innovation abound.  My  work involves particular focus on search marketing, so I am continually surrounded by reams of high  quality data about what people are looking for and how they are doing so, along with contextual and  demographic signals forming a fuller picture of these seekers and their needs.  As such, I found this  course’s emphasis on design thinking as a “human centered” undertaking informed by a sympathetic  and empathetic mindset particularly striking.

With high volumes of anonymized, yet specific, data signals constantly accruing, there is an element of  insight into real-time human needs, but the full picture of the customer’s journey and the deeper  motivations behind what they are searching can remain obscure.  When deciding how to deploy media  budget across various digital tactics that span the conversion funnel from consideration to purchase,  one is inclined to optimize against the metrics observed in association with a wide range of categorical  data.  Using a this data in a reactive manner naturally limits the ability to preemptively position  campaigns in response to emerging search trends.  Arriving at conclusions about what users want based on this data, in isolation, may lead to missing both unarticulated needs and opportunities to cross- pollinate ideas of what “wows” and “works” with those helping to bring new products to market.

Selection:

Toward the end of the course, I was particularly struck by Saeid referencing Rilke’s advice to  “live the questions” and “live your way into the answer.”  This quote underscored the importance of the storytelling tool for design thinking, particularly within the context of the challenge above.  As touched  upon in the course material, I am seeking to move beyond the restrictions on investigating new ideas  when working with large data sets from the past, and instead see what “thinking in time” uncovers  above the separation between “what is” and a version of “what if” that that ultimately “wows.”  I think  that the relatable, human-centric aspect of storytelling can play an important role in knowledge  gathering and brainstorming among multiple stakeholders in an organization, as well as building  narratives of customer experience to inform innovation.  Recalling the George and Geoff example from the course, I believe that this tool can help avoid the stagnation of data paralysis and provide a relatable framework for quickly testing new ideas.

Application:

While I have not been able to fully test the storytelling tool in the digital/search advertising context yet, I do have ideas for how to approach doing so.  I believe it would be helpful to augment regular cross- functional standup/status meetings with a storytelling component.  While meetings of this type can  result in helpful collaboration, it is easy for these sessions to slip into a round-robin recount of “what  you’re working on” that washes over many attendees that are focused on other day-to-day roles.  Even  if everyone can coordinate effectively to discharge their existing obligations, doing so does not  necessarily foster innovation; everyone speaks a slightly different dialect of the brand’s language.

In his statement on the storytelling tool, Jesus Brown said, “every great brand has a story.”  Turning  standup meeting attendees into brand storytellers will help everyone speak in a mutually intelligible  and engaging way.  I propose sending these stakeholders home with a top performing and a low

performing product on a regular cadence, with the task to return to the next scheduled meeting with a  few sentence story about their experience using the products themselves.  To augment any formal  ethnographic research efforts in progress, engaging family, friends, and community members in this  product trial experience would be strongly encouraged.  After everyone has told their stories, a brief  comment session to surface highlights and commonalities will be key to translate these experiences into potential innovation.  To ensure that current or future insights arising from these experiences are not  lost, record keeping of the stories told at each meeting would rotate equally among the attendees on an  ongoing basis.

Insight:

I hope that the standup meeting approach can embody Jesus Brown’s view that storytelling “creates a  cause” and can serve to encapsulate a digestible combination of data, hard facts, and a  recommendation.  In doing so, different stakeholders normally tasked with bringing a brand’s various  products to market will be forced to develop real world experience with a host of items, thereby  thinking of them with a customer empathy mindset.  Members of marketing, finance, and R&D who  may view some products simply as SKUs around which various historical metrics gather, will now see  them as parts of their everyday lives.  The customer has no conception of these internal metrics, they  only know their own experiences, yet these experiences are the arbiter of these metrics’ favorability.   Developing these experiences within the company will allow for more rapid prototyping of solutions to the pain points or needs discovered firsthand.  Because everyone will be talking in everyday language,  rather than metrics, a greater sense of comfort about placing “small bets quickly” will arise.  Rather  than waiting for some sense of certainty to arise from a statistically significant slice of the search  marketing pool exhibiting a certain inclination, marketing coverage can reach out and address those  revealed needs earlier, all while informing product development around those needs.

Approach:

In developing this recommended storytelling method, I recognized some potential shortcomings and  limitations.  Depending on the meeting cadence and nature of the product or service at hand, not all  team members may be capable of testing on their own.  Additionally, while the storytelling method is  intended to foster easier conversation through natural discussion, some participants may be nervous  about “performing” their personal story among a group of colleagues.  To this end, the context may  dictate written (and potentially anonymous) feedback from the team as a preferred method that reveals  even more honest opinions that are likely closer to those of real customers.  If time and resources to  digest insights allow, this written feedback concept could be extended to the company as a whole in a  suggestion-box manner.  This method would encourage deeper engagement and customer empathy  across the organization.  More experience touchpoints can provide a quicker path from “what is” to  “what works” by allowing stakeholders to step out of their internal conception of the product and into  that of the customer.


Reflection – Storytelling Tool Challenge : Experience in the digital advertising space indicates that it is an adaptive and innovative industry , but one in which opportunities for employing the hallmarks of design thinking for innovation abound . My work involves particular focus on search marketing , so I am continually surrounded by reams of high quality data about what people are looking for and how they are doing so , along with contextual and demographic signals forming a fuller picture of these seekers and their needs . As such , I found this course ’s emphasis on design thinking as a “ human centered ” undertaking informed by a sympathetic and empathetic mindset particularly striking . With high volumes of anonymized , yet specific , data signals constantly accruing , there is an element of insight into real - time human needs , but the full picture of the customer ’s journey and the deeper motivations behind what they are searching can remain obscure . When deciding how to deploy media budget across various digital tactics that span the conversion funnel from consideration to purchase , one is inclined to optimize against the metrics observed in association with a wide range of categorical data . Using a this data in a reactive manner naturally limits the ability to preemptively position campaigns in response to emerging search trends . Arriving at conclusions about what users want based on this data , in isolation , may lead to missing both unarticulated needs and opportunities to cross- pollinate ideas of what “ wows ” and “ works ” with those helping to bring new products to market . Selection : Toward the end of the course , I was particularly struck by Saeid referencing Rilke ’s advice to “ live the questions ” and “ live your way into the answer . ” This quote underscored the importance of the storytelling tool for design thinking , particularly within the context of the challenge above . As touched upon in the course material , I am seeking to move beyond the restrictions on investigating new ideas when working with large data sets from the past , and instead see what “ thinking in time ” uncovers above the separation between “ what is ” and a version of “ what if ” that that ultimately “ wows . ” I think that the relatable , human - centric aspect of storytelling can play an important role in knowledge gathering and brainstorming among multiple stakeholders in an organization , as well as building narratives of customer experience to inform innovation . Recalling the George and Geoff example from the course , I believe that this tool can help avoid the stagnation of data paralysis and provide a relatable framework for quickly testing new ideas . Application : While I have not been able to fully test the storytelling tool in the digital / search advertising context yet , I do have ideas for how to approach doing so . I believe it would be helpful to augment regular cross- functional standup / status meetings with a storytelling component . While meetings of this type can result in helpful collaboration , it is easy for these sessions to slip into a round - robin recount of “ what you ’re working on ” that washes over many attendees that are focused on other day - to - day roles . Even if everyone can coordinate effectively to discharge their existing obligations , doing so does not necessarily foster innovation ; everyone speaks a slightly different dialect of the brand ’s language . In his statement on the storytelling tool , Jesus Brown said , “ every great brand has a story . ” Turning standup meeting attendees into brand storytellers will help everyone speak in a mutually intelligible and engaging way . I propose sending these stakeholders home with a top performing and a low performing product on a regular cadence , with the task to return to the next scheduled meeting with a few sentence story about their experience using the products themselves . To augment any formal ethnographic research efforts in progress , engaging family , friends , and community members in this product trial experience would be strongly encouraged . After everyone has told their stories , a brief comment session to surface highlights and commonalities will be key to translate these experiences into potential innovation . To ensure that current or future insights arising from these experiences are not lost , record keeping of the stories told at each meeting would rotate equally among the attendees on an ongoing basis . Insight : I hope that the standup meeting approach can embody Jesus Brown ’s view that storytelling “ creates a cause ” and can serve to encapsulate a digestible combination of data , hard facts , and a recommendation . In doing so , different stakeholders normally tasked with bringing a brand ’s various products to market will be forced to develop real world experience with a host of items , thereby thinking of them with a customer empathy mindset . Members of marketing , finance , and R&D who may view some products simply as SKUs around which various historical metrics gather , will now see them as parts of their everyday lives . The customer has no conception of these internal metrics , they only know their own experiences , yet these experiences are the arbiter of these metrics ’ favorability . Developing these experiences within the company will allow for more rapid prototyping of solutions to the pain points or needs discovered firsthand . Because everyone will be talking in everyday language , rather than metrics , a greater sense of comfort about placing “ small bets quickly ” will arise . Rather than waiting for some sense of certainty to arise from a statistically significant slice of the search marketing pool exhibiting a certain inclination , marketing coverage can reach out and address those revealed needs earlier , all while informing product development around those needs . Approach : In developing this recommended storytelling method , I recognized some potential shortcomings and limitations . Depending on the meeting cadence and nature of the product or service at hand , not all team members may be capable of testing on their own . Additionally , while the storytelling method is intended to foster easier conversation through natural discussion , some participants may be nervous about “ performing ” their personal story among a group of colleagues . To this end , the context may dictate written ( and potentially anonymous ) feedback from the team as a preferred method that reveals even more honest opinions that are likely closer to those of real customers . If time and resources to digest insights allow , this written feedback concept could be extended to the company as a whole in a suggestion - box manner . This method would encourage deeper engagement and customer empathy across the organization . More experience touchpoints can provide a quicker path from “ what is ” to “ what works ” by allowing stakeholders to step out of their internal conception of the product and into that of the customer .