The Importance of Listening & Humility In Research

Stripping down a gas station to its essence

Peep would like to thank Jan Chipchase for his inspiring talk at last week’s Good Ideas Salon. We certainly left impressed and inspired. Who else could cohesively tie together loan sharks, shanty towns, KFC and graffiti – to name just a few of our favorite examples from Jan’s presentation.

Clearly it takes a real level of commitment to conduct “extreme environment research”: ride along loan sharks in China or spend time in Kabul (where Kabul Fried Chicken surfaced) to better understand the nuances of transactions made under severe pressure. This type of exploratory may only seem appropriate for global multi-nationals, that can afford to evaluate every imaginable angle to better project futures scenarios. But we agree that getting at the truths that motivate people takes guts, and often unorthodox techniques. One of our favorite methodologies involves deprivation tactics – suffice to say taking a product, brand or activity away from some one’s life always reveals how they really feel about it, on a very emotional level.

Decoding barbershop signage in Korea

Of course Jan’s seasoned pattern recognition skills speak for themselves, but we enjoyed hearing more about how important listening skills are to his process, both in terms of selecting team members and in fieldwork priorities. We feel more emphasis should be placed on listening, and while many of our research tools and outputs are very visual in nature, no good research exists without sharp listening skills. There is a difference between active and passive listening. We think more people should strive to develop “active listening” skills and that “listening” in general will be a real focus in the future.

Chipchase’s emphasis on humility, in both research process and life, is a genuine distinction, which our team found most admirable. Much of his work takes place in emerging markets, places like Uganda, India and rural China, where the realities of the power balance make meaningful exchanges difficult. Even after listening to Chipchase for an hour, it is clear that not only his intense preparation and experience, but his demeanor and value system, contribute largely to his success.