Richard Shotton is considered one of the most talented brand strategists in the UK. He’s also author of The Choice Factory: 25 Behavioral Biases That Influence What We Buy”, which looks at the psychological factors that weigh into the decisions people make in their everyday lives. His book won BBH Labs’ 2018 World Cup of Advertising, outperforming Ogilvy on Advertising as one of the most significant books on advertising of all time. Richard and I talked about the ideas in his book and why they matter to marketers, UX-ers or anyone who might benefit from understanding the motivations that drive human behavior.
Here’s a link to the published interview that appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of QRCA VIEWS Magazine
Interviews
Sarah DaVanzo of L’Oréal describes a process for discovery research that combines technology with humanity
I had the opportunity to do a Luminaries interview with Sarah DaVanzo VP, Consumer & Market Insight & Foresight at L’Oréal for the Summer QRCA VIEWS magazine. Sarah is known throughout the world as a “super-forecaster” with an amazing 73% accurate track record. Prior to L’Oréal Sarah launched several companies and has spoken at TEDx. In her current role at the L’Oréal Group (USA) she has implemented agile innovation methods to ensure the company’s brands sync with trends and position themselves for the future. In this Luminaries interview I talk with Sarah about her work, the importance of curiosity, and the methods that she has developed to see into the future.
Here’s a link to the PDF version of our interview – VIEWS Luminaries Interview Davanzo-VP-Insight-LOreal
Here’s a link to the published article on the QRCA VIEWS Web site – QRCA VIEWS Magazine – Summer 2019 – Luminaries interview with Sarah Davanzo
Joe Coughlin of the MIT AgeLab – one day we will all look forward to growing old.
Joe Coughlin is the founder and director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of The Longevity Economy – Unlocking the World’s Fastest Growing Most Misunderstood Market. This past fall I had the the chance to do a QRCA VIEWS Luminaries interview with him about his work and to visit the AgeLab.
During the 20th century the average lifespan in most developed countries increased by 30 years. In 1900 most people died before they turned 50. Today we live well into our 80s. However, the options for older people to help them stay engaged and live better remain very limited. This has created what Joe calls the longevity paradox “Perhaps the greatest success of humankind is living longer, but now the challenge is what we do with the time we have and the time we continue to gain.” Joe and team of engineers, designers, and researchers work with clients on finding ways to leverage technology to create products and services that give older people independence and help them live better.
Many organizations see aging as “a problem to be solved” vs. the fastest growing market in the world. They create utilitarian products for the disabilities associated with aging such as adult diapers and “help I’ve fallen and can’t get up” type devices, ignoring the wide ranging needs and desires of older people.
Joe described some of the research methods the AgeLab uses to gain a deep, accurate and humane understanding of older adults. Their methods are high tech and high touch leveraging many approaches from field studies, to focus groups to big data. Their Lifestyle Leader panel is comprised of early adopters, many of whom are well north of 90 year old. The panel helps with ideation and product reviews. The AgeLab team developed the “Agnes” simulation suit that helps designers experience how an older body with achy joints limited mobility handles products and navigates the world.
To learn more:
Here is a link to a print version of my interview with Joe from the QRCA VIEWS Magazine, Winter 2018
Here is a link to the podcast version
And a link to my book review of “The Longevity Economy – Unlocking the World’s Fastest Growing, Most Misunderstood Market”
A Conversation with Dan Pink
Dan has a genius for spotting trends, digging deep to synthesize scientific research into practical advice we can adopt to improve lives and relationships. Some of his best known books include Free Agent Nation, where back in 2002 he predicted how technology and platforms would give the rise to the solopreneur phenomenon, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the World, To Sell is Human – the Surprising Truth about Moving Others and most recently When – the Secrets of Perfect Timing.
In When Dan examines the importance of good and bad timing. He shows how each human has a unique and biologically determined “chronotype”, which determines when we are at our sharpest and most creative and energetic. We should sync the work that we do with the time of day. This means that for folks like myself, who are morning people, I should do the work that requires deep analysis and expansive thinking as soon as I wake up and do routine administrative tasks later in the day. Dan also looks at the science around taking breaks as well as the impact of timing on life events (e.g., the best time to quit a job or when your spouse is most likely to ask for a divorce). He also explores the effect of timing on groups providing useful guidelines for managers, teachers and others who want to get the best performance from the people they are working with.
Dan’s books are rich, useful and original and judging from all the 5-star reviews on them from Amazon, his other readers agree. Not only does he do complete and meticulous research for each one, but he also rounds out his ideas with a great deal of phone and in-person interviews. For this reason, I thought he’d be a fine guest for a QRCA VIEWS Luminaries interview and was delighted when he accepted my invitation.
Here is a transcript from our conversation, where Dan talks about his latest book and describes how he integrates qualitative research into his work. This interview appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of the QRCA VIEWS Magazine.
John Maeda on the role of user research at Automattic
I did this interview with John Maeda for the Spring 2018 issue of QRCA VIEWS magazine. John and I talked about his views on how to do qualitative research in an age of artificial intelligence.
Wired magazine has said that John Maeda is to design what Warren Buffett is to finance. Forbes named him one of the most influential people of the 21st century and millions have watched his TED talks. In this interview, which took place at Boston’s MITX conference in September 2017 about how qualitative researchers should work with artificial intelligence, concerns about privacy in our digital age, and his philosophy on open source software. READ THE ARTICLE