It’s a scene we’ve all watched in the movies. A cop has to go undercover to infiltrate the mafia or a biker gang. Or even a sorority of scantily-clad girls. We watch at the edge of our seats because we know what’s at stake. The cop has to understand every…
How the concept of academic research is throttling applied research
Research-for-hire — market research, UX research, and customer research — are in peril.
One of the major reasons is that they are positioned wrong. These functions are positioned to “help the business uncover customer needs,” or “deliver insights to the business.”
They promise businesses MORE data.
They promise businesses BETTER data.
They promise businesses FASTER access to data.
But they don’t promise the…
How a framework for asking questions can help you solve your most burning customer questions.
My partner and I got called to a local business where a bank deposit had gone missing.
When we arrived, the manager of the store told us that he had given the deposit to one of the delivery drivers to take to the bank. We spoke with the driver, who…
You can adapt this pattern of questioning to virtually any situation to determine what’s wrong and why.
Sir…
Sir…
Can you hear me?!
The man lay unconscious on the floor.
His wife stood nearby, nervously shifting from foot to foot.
What was going on? Why was he unconscious? As a paramedic, it was my job to find out. …
But can we agree on what the facts are?
The phrase “Just the facts” was popularly attributed to Sergeant Joe Friday of Dragnet. But from what I can tell from some quick research; he never said it.
Yet people claim this as fact. Interesting, no?
Maybe people accept this “fact” because it doesn’t matter? …
What is your style?
Imagine you have a bucket of the cleanest, most pure water in the world.
Now, imagine you take a drop of urine and place it in the water. Through the process of diffusion, the drop of urine permeates the entire bucket and contaminates the whole thing.
This is what happens when you have toxic communicators on your team; they can contaminate your whole environment.
…
And neither should you (it’s bad for your health)
Stop being nice.
Have you ever been on your way to a party with your significant other, parents, friends, etc., and they tell you to “be nice?”
What the fuck does “be nice” mean anyway?
What they are actually telling you to do is throttle your assertiveness, fit into the group (even if…
Most workplaces are ruled by fear.
Employees choose to take or avoid action based on either positive or negative consequences. If incentivized, employees can do great things. Conversely, the fear of repercussions or punishment can stop them from doing anything. …
As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said,
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
The problem is, many leaders today don’t display the ability to do this. …
And it can be costly.
January 12, 1998.
It was an hour before the end of his shift.
Deputy Kyle Dinkheller of the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia was sitting on the side of Interstate 16 in his patrol car when a white Toyota pickup truck sped by at 98 miles per…
Dr. Ari Zelmanow
I make a living asking and answering questions | Currently @Panasonic | Previously @Twitter | Defender of truth, justice, and NY Pizza | www.grok.ink
