Thursday, October 16, 2008
thru the eyes of a newbie
okay, it's been awhile since i've been on here. been tweeting and commenting more. work has been busy good. i had the opportunity to help out on a couple juicy projects that normally don't fall into my scope of work, which is me being a brief writing machine. the first project was going out on shop-a-longs with bottled tea drinking women to get an understanding of their purchase behavior. this week i moderated a focus group to get feedback on some fantasy football promotion concepts. both these exercises were a rush, but i especially enjoyed the focus group. i've been on the other side of the glass before, but to be in the chair, at the head of the table with a camera to my back, there was a different tingly feeling. i certainly had some butterflies at first, (maybe cuz i don't know a thing about fantasy football?) but after a couple minutes, i started to get into my groove and felt really at ease. i realized that i didn't have to be the expert. the experts were in the room with me. i just need to look thru the lens of a rookie player, and get them to open up and share what FF meant to them...let them do all the talking. yeah, i kinda like that. being a planner is not about being the trendynista, or the iphone carrying smart ass know-it-all. for me, it's about always being curious and looking at everything thru the eyes of a newbie with excitement and inspiration.
one more thing, go check out this flick, FUEL. If you're local theater doesn't have it, ask for it. thanks.
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4 comments:
Yeah I've been doing some really interesting face-to-face research this week, learning very cool stuff about millennials from around the world! For sure going through the whole "getting into the groove" process - especially when there's a slight language/cultural gap haha... Glad to hear you're having the same kind of fun I am.
indeed having a lot fun. beats sitting in front of computer all day. talking with people face to face trumps online chats any day. thanks for stopping by.
I think the point about looking at things with a perspective of 'newness' if you will is something that is so often left behind when we become 'professionals'. We all carry assumptions around, we have to (I'm as guilty as the next person). But, making sure we're availed to embracing ignorance, if you will, on a subject matter can, as a framework for analysis, can lead to powerful insights - That was a rock solid post, thanks for sharing.
hey, thanks Stephen. There was a great article in Surfer magazine several years ago, about how surfers can get bored, lose interest and even become jaded as years go by. Maybe that explains some of the salty old dogs out in the water? Anyways, there was mention of a Japanese saying in the Surfer article, that if you look at the surfing experience thru the eyes of a beginner/novice, you'll always keep that stoke throughout your life. I remember as a kid that I'd surf in any condition, all the time, it was new to me and just as exciting every time, crappy small and windy to crazy deadly to epic. Each time I learned something new about surfing, and my place out in the water. I try to apply this same thought in work as well as life, it's not always easy, but when I do, I tend to have a good time with it. I wish I can find out how that saying goes in Japanese. Will have to ask around. Thanks again for visiting and sharing your thoughts. You've got me thinking about the next post. Off to catch some waves now. Cheers!
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