From The Rooftops

Innovative Research: Get Rhythm

As a freelance strategist with the chance to get inside corporate cultures and tinker with the best techniques for aligning behavior and processes with the expectations of customers, I’m always working to improve my tools for taking the pulse of an organization. In my most recent post, I suggested that MadLibs work well. Another research tool I like to use is one I call Get Rhythm.

Get Rhythm can be used as a facilitated workshop exercise or as a survey question inside organizations, and it’s pretty simple. Take six songs that represent a range of points of view, styles or meaning, and ask participants (employees, executives) to choose the one that is most like their company and explain their selection. Here’s the songs I often like to use (but there are many more out there that can work great):

•  Queen: We Are The Champions
•  Michael Jackson: Thriller
•  Take Me Out To The Ball Game (as heard at baseball games)
•  Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
•  Somewhere Over The Rainbow (from Wizard of Oz)
•  The Beatles: Helter Skelter

Obviously, there is no one right answer to this exercise. In fact, the song selection hardly matters. Every song, even one like Folsom Prison Blues, has different associations for different people. The power is in the explanation and the clarity you can get about a culture based on participants’ descriptions. And it’s fun! So, what song best fits your organization? -Scott

Innovative Research: “MadLibs” FTW!

As a freelance strategist with expertise in qualitative research and facilitation, I often get asked to help companies learn more about themselves through dialogue with their employees and customers. One of my specialties, especially in workshop settings, is giving executives or customers the chance to have some fun while I pump them for relevant insights. This often includes art projects and the like, which always gets a rise out of the CFO in the room. “You want me to make a freakin’ collage!?” they say (before going on to thoroughly enjoy themselves).

One technique that’s ALWAYS fun and often leads to deep insight, whether in a workshop or survey setting, is the “MadLib” exercise. We all know MadLibs from childhood, right!? Maybe some of us still buy them occasionally for stocking stuffers or for the youngsters in our life. Well, have you considered using them for your business too? You should.

Here’s one MadLib style survey question I designed for an agency seeking to explore the depths of its identity as part of a rebranding process. Simple instructions were given to the staff: Put words in our customers’ mouths. For this exercise, imagine you’re a prospective client, and you’ve just visited Acme Agency (name changed) to see what they’re all about.

Boss,

I just met with Acme Agency today. What a _____ bunch of people: they’re _____, _____, _____, and they really seemed to __________. The work they showed was _____ and _____ kind of reminds me of _____. It’s clear that Acme is serious about _____ and that they value _____ and _____. What isn’t so clear is how they manage to __________. Their _____ seemed really strong, but when I asked about their _____, they said that _____. Anyway, it was a _____ visit. Before I left, they insisted that I _____. I was totally _____.

As I’m sure you can imagine, the answers were quite revealing. I encourage you to try one the next time you conduct an appropriate research project. -Scott