Today I'm kicking off something new: the Three Question Interview (Hat tip to Peter King for the idea.) First up is Darrel Rhea, Principal and CEO of Cheskin, the market research, design and branding consulting firm founded by Louis Cheskin in 1946, and a guy with a refreshingly dark sense of humor:
1) You wrote recently that "Business demand for design innovation is getting hotter every day," and noted that BusinessWeek had declared design "to be the critical competency for business and the primary tool of business growth." But I still come across many people--and not just techies; marketers, too!--who think of design as so much superficial "eye candy." What's your reaction when you encounter this attitude?
I’m pretty good at offering them a measured, controlled response that makes the case for the value and contribution of design. After all, the evidence and the business rationale are quite compelling.
But my emotional response is quite different. I have to repress my desire to pull out my designer club (sleek, well-balanced, brushed stainless, with soft black rubberized grips) and give them a self-righteous clubbing while screaming "Where have you been for the last 25 years? …you idiot!" I have learned that this approach is rarely successful, it gets blood stains on my designer shirts, and that the rational appeal wins more converts in the long run. Seriously, it is up to us to educate those who are not yet aware of the benefits provided by design, and to demonstrate the value of our perspective, skill set and tools. If we can’t help them to see it, then we aren’t as credible as we think we are.
2) In March, 2003, Denise Klarquist wrote, "TED 2003 gave us a feast for thought, including the motivation to begin our own blog. Welcome to the inside track of what we think about. At this point we're not guaranteeing a regular torrent of information, but there's no doubt that there'll be quite a few pearls. And controversy of course. Stay tuned." With nearly 30 months of organizational blogging under your belt, what's the most valuable thing you've learned from the experience?"
Blogging connects you and your organization to the world in a way that is tangibly different from other forms of communication. Revealing yourself engages you in a broader discourse; you become a participant in the world in a different way. It is a subtle attitudinal change that has us show up as more responsible citizens.
The other thing is being humbled by the power of words. While they can enlighten and inspire, the same words can offend. Blogs are personal, yet quite public when thousands read them. Again, it forces us to be responsible for the “listening" of others.
3) Your company bio describes you as "a pioneer in incorporating market research into the brand design and product development process." Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" poses some stiff challenges to traditional market research techniques, and Gladwell has said that he feels focus groups are "a tax on revolutionary ideas." Is Gladwell right, and if so, how should market research evolve in response?
Market research has already evolved beyond where Malcolm is talking about it. Focus groups are an easy target because they are misused and over used. There will be 950,000 focus groups conducted in the world this year, and yes, some real atrocities will result from some misapplications of a perfectly good methodology. But that is only one method used in research, and there are plenty of others that do a great job of informing designers and the design process. We have been making speeches about this since the early 80’s.
Malcolm doesn’t pose a stiff challenge to traditional techniques; he posed a challenge to the mindless application of one specific technique by clients who demand focus groups and an industry of researchers who don’t know better. We evolved a highly sophisticated design research practice decades ago, using ethnography and a host of other tools proven to be effective and fully endorsed by design innovators.
You don’t use focus groups to evaluate revolutionary ideas. They can provide context for them, they can facilitate the generation of them. This is old news now getting broad exposure, but better late than never. That’s Gladwell’s welcomed contribution.