Week 1 Masterclass Ismail Akbani Human Centric Approach to Innovation

Summary

The video emphasizes the importance of a human-centric approach to innovation, focusing on empathy and understanding users' needs, desires, and expectations. It begins with a reflection on how personal involvement in tasks, like polishing shoes, fosters empathy. The speaker discusses the role of human-centered design in startups and innovation, highlighting that all actions and purchases are driven by needs, expectations, or desires—be they biological, psychological, or social. The session aims to teach empathy techniques and design thinking frameworks, which can be applied to improve customer experiences and product development.

Takeaways

• 🎯 The video highlights the importance of empathy and how it changes one's approach to tasks when personally involved.
• 🔍 Human-centric design is emphasized, focusing on the user's experience and needs.
• 📊 The discussion challenges the dominance of data-driven approaches, advocating for a balance with human-centered thinking.
• 🎥 A video was shown to set the stage for discussing human-centric design, focusing on the importance of empathy.
• 🤔 The concept of 'hiring' products or services to fulfill specific needs is introduced, inspired by Clayton Christensen's ideas.
• 💡 Innovation and startups should adopt a human-centric approach to opportunity discovery.
• 🛠️ Various tools and frameworks for applying human-centric design in corporate environments are mentioned.
• 🧠 All human actions, including purchasing decisions, stem from needs, expectations, or desires, which can be biological, psychological, social, or spiritual.
• 💭 The distinction between needs, desires, and expectations is crucial for understanding customer behavior.
• ⚖️ Addressing needs and expectations can lead to a sense of balance or imbalance, influencing customer emotions and decisions.

Q & A

What is the key observation made in the video the speaker references at the beginning?

The key observation is that the way a person treats their shoes changes when they are responsible for polishing them, highlighting the concept of empathy.

How does the speaker define empathy in the context of human-centric design?

Empathy is defined as understanding and sharing the feelings of others, which in this context means putting oneself in the user's shoes to better design products or processes.

What is the broader context of the speaker's discussion on opportunity discovery?

The broader context is innovation. The speaker expands the topic from opportunity discovery to human-centric innovation, particularly in the context of startups.

What are some of the tools and techniques the speaker promises to share later in the session?

The speaker plans to share frameworks, structured methods, and tools that can be used to apply a human-centric approach to processes, specifically those used in corporate training programs.

What are the three main reasons the speaker gives for why customers interact with products?

Customers interact with products due to a need, an expectation, or a desire. These factors drive their actions and choices.

How does the speaker distinguish between need, expectation, and desire?

A need is an innate or biological drive, an expectation is something driven by external pressures or norms, and a desire is something more personal and internally motivated.

What example does the speaker use to illustrate the difference between need and desire?

The speaker uses the example of needing water due to thirst (a biological need) versus simply desiring water without a strong physical urge.

How does the speaker describe the internal imbalance caused by needs or expectations?

An internal imbalance is described as a sense of uneasiness or discomfort, which may manifest as pain, frustration, sadness, or loneliness.

How does the speaker apply the concept of human-centric design to corporate training?

The speaker has applied human-centric design to training innovation managers and HR leaders, helping them make processes more employee-friendly and organizationally effective.

What psychological concept does the speaker reference when explaining why customers 'hire' products?

The speaker references Clayton Christensen’s idea that customers don’t just buy products—they 'hire' them to get specific jobs done, linking this to their needs, expectations, or desires.

Outlines

00:00

🎥 Introduction to Human-Centric Design

The speaker begins by introducing a video that encapsulates the core of the discussion on human-centric design. They invite the audience to share their observations, highlighting the change in attitude towards one's shoes when one has to polish them personally, illustrating the concept of empathy. The speaker emphasizes the importance of empathy in human-centric design, which is crucial for innovation and startups. They also mention the use of data science and the need to understand human behavior to create user-friendly and organization-friendly processes. The speaker promises to share tools and frameworks used in corporate training programs to apply human-centric approaches effectively.

05:01

🤔 The Core of Human-Centric Innovation

The speaker delves into the fundamental question of why customers would choose to buy from a particular seller, referencing Clayton Christenson's view that customers 'hire' products to get jobs done. The discussion expands to include the various types of needs that drive human behavior, such as biological, psychological, social, emotional, functional, and spiritual needs. The speaker uses a personal anecdote about needing water to illustrate the difference between needs and desires, explaining how these drive actions. They also touch on the concept of expectations and how they influence behavior, providing examples from the audience's participation in the session. The speaker concludes by discussing how these needs, expectations, and desires are crucial for understanding customer behavior and product development.

10:02

💧 The Impact of Needs and Expectations

Continuing from the previous paragraph, the speaker describes the internal disequilibrium or imbalance that arises when there is an unmet need or unfulfilled expectation. This imbalance can lead to feelings of discomfort, frustration, sadness, or other negative emotions. Using the example of needing to drink water, the speaker explains how this need creates a sense of uneasiness until it is satisfied. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding these internal states in the context of human-centric design and innovation, as they directly influence customer behavior and satisfaction.

Keywords

💡Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. In the context of the video, it is a crucial concept in human-centric design, which emphasizes putting the user at the center of the design process. The speaker uses the example of a person's change in attitude towards their shoes when they have to polish them themselves, illustrating how doing the work personally can foster empathy for others who perform the task.

💡Human-Centric Design

Human-Centric Design is an approach to problem-solving that focuses on the human perspective. It aims to create solutions that are centered around the needs, abilities, and experiences of people. The video discusses how this approach can be applied to innovation and startups, suggesting that it leads to more effective and user-friendly outcomes.

💡Opportunity Discovery

Opportunity Discovery refers to the process of identifying potential areas for innovation or business development. The video script suggests expanding the discussion from a human-centric approach to opportunity discovery to a broader concept of innovation, indicating that understanding user needs and experiences is key to uncovering new opportunities.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of introducing new ideas, methods, or products. The video's theme revolves around the idea that a human-centric approach can enhance innovation by ensuring that new solutions are tailored to the needs and desires of users, as opposed to being technology- or feature-driven.

💡Data Science

Data Science is mentioned in the script as a field that is often discussed in the context of innovation. It involves the analysis and interpretation of large data sets to extract knowledge or insights. The speaker implies that while data science is important, it should be complemented by a human-centric approach to truly understand and address user needs.

💡Needs

Needs are fundamental requirements that drive human behavior. The video script discusses how every action starts with a need, expectation, or desire. Needs can be biological, psychological, social, emotional, functional, or spiritual. The speaker uses the example of feeling thirsty and needing to drink water to illustrate a biological need.

💡Expectations

Expectations are beliefs about what will or should happen. In the video, expectations are described as a driving force that can lead to actions, often due to societal or familial pressures. The speaker gives the example of attending the session because one is expected to be there as part of a cohort.

💡Desires

Desires are strong feelings of wanting or wishing for something to happen. The video script differentiates desires from needs and expectations, suggesting that desires are personal and not necessarily expected or required. The speaker mentions attending the session out of a desire to learn and gain new perspectives.

💡Customer's Why

The 'Customer's Why' refers to understanding the underlying reasons why customers choose to engage with a product or service. The video emphasizes the importance of this understanding in product development, using the quote from Clayton Christenson that customers 'hire' products to get jobs done, indicating that products should be designed to meet specific needs or solve problems.

💡Internal Disequilibrium

Internal Disequilibrium is a state of imbalance or discomfort that can arise from unmet needs or unfulfilled expectations. The video script describes this concept as a driving force behind actions, where the sense of imbalance can lead to feelings of pain, frustration, or uneasiness, prompting individuals to seek resolution or satisfaction.

Highlights

The concept of empathy is introduced as crucial in understanding human-centered design by observing the change in how someone treats shoes when they have to polish them themselves.

Human-centric design involves putting human beings at the center of innovation and opportunity discovery, emphasizing empathy and the user's perspective.

In today’s world, data science often drives decision-making, but human-centric design balances this with an understanding of the human experience.

The speaker expands the topic from human-centered opportunity discovery to a human-centered approach to innovation as a whole.

Empathy is highlighted as a core element in design thinking, with frameworks and structured methods to empathize with users being introduced.

Tools and techniques shared by the speaker have been applied in corporate training programs to help HR leaders and innovation managers adopt a more human-centric approach.

The core of all innovation begins with understanding the customer's 'why'—why a customer would choose to buy, acquire, or use a product.

Customers don’t just buy products, they ‘hire’ them to fulfill specific jobs, as described by Clayton Christensen.

Every action a person takes is driven by a need, expectation, or desire, which can be biological, psychological, social, emotional, functional, or spiritual.

The distinction between need and desire is important in product development—products often fail when they don’t adequately address a core need or desire.

Expectations, like those from society, family, or peers, also influence behavior, and products need to address these expectations.

In a training session, some attendees may join out of need (to learn), others out of expectation (being part of a cohort), and others out of desire (to gain new perspectives).

Product design must account for the fact that customers can be motivated by need, expectation, or desire, and successful products address at least one of these.

An internal imbalance—such as pain, frustration, or uneasiness—occurs when needs, expectations, or desires are unmet, and this can drive a person to seek a solution.

The example of needing water during the session demonstrates how even basic actions are driven by core needs, which is essential in understanding user behavior in design.

Transcripts

[Music]

so I want to start by playing a small

video which actually is the essence of

the entire discussion that we going to

have

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today

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okay so those who watched it carefully

what did You observe

quickly you can type in the chat box let

me see how many of You observe the video

clear with Focus what is the one thing

one point that you noticed in those two

minutes

[Music]

anyone okay we don't know the value

until it comes to us okay what

else if you notice the way that the

person treats his shoes changes when he

himself has to polish them right and the

reason is because when you start doing

the work yourself you you start feeling

for how the other person is doing the

work is doing it and that is what the

concept of empathy is that is what the

entire concept of being human

Centric human

design so uh anyways muted every so

that's the concept when we talking about

human Centric design that we want to put

the human beings the users and normally

say that we all live in this world where

data science everybody's talking about

data points Excel R and W and all those

things

a g hand hand yes sir sorry to interrupt

uh just wanted to check if the audio is

clear at everyone's end it was little

low at my end so okay I thought

it okay yeah cool thank you sir okay

thank you so much so let me now go to

[Music]

the

so while while the topic given to me was

the human Centric uh uh approach to

opportunity Discovery as said let us

expand the scope a little bit and make a

human centc approach to Innovation

itself because ultimately we are talking

about opportunity Discovery in the

broader context of innovation and

startups right but before we go ahead

with the you know the design thinking

elements the human Centric design

elements that I'm going to cover we talk

we'll talk about empathy we'll talk

about how do you empathize with people

what are the techniques there are

certain Frameworks that I will show you

there are certain uh structured method

tools that I will show you probably I'll

share those soft copies Al L if you want

that you can use and these are the tools

and techniques that I've been using in a

lot of the corporate training programs

that I've been doing with some of the

mnc's where we are trained their

Innovation managers have trained HR

leaders in certain companies on how do

you apply this human Centric approach to

make your HR process more employee

friendly and more organization friendly

so those are the tools that will come

towards the end but before that let's

start uh from the very Core Essence of

where this all begins right this

everything that starts with a

customers's why right why would a

customer want to buy from you why would

a customer acquire or use or hire your

products uh as Clayton Christenson said

that customers don't buy your product

they hire them to get certain jobs done

so why would they hire your product why

would they buy your product and this is

a generic you know psychological dri

driving force that happens inside know

that drives the way we work and it's not

only about buying products or Services

it's about everything that we do in our

life and everything start with either a

need an expectation or a

desire now the need this need expect and

desire could be either biological need

it could be psychological need social

emotional functional spiritual need

right for example just while sh was

introducing me I know and I kep my

camera because I suddenly F thirsty and

I realized my bottle was empty so I had

to go to the part and get the bottle

filled while he was introducing me my

laptop was a speaker so I was able to

hear him and then I came back now that

the action of me getting up on the chair

leaving the session going to the kitchen

to fetch water was actually driven by

need and that was a biological need

right my body needed water I was feeling

thirsty my throat was feeling drad and I

was like throughout the session two

hours I'm going to need water so let me

do it everything we do every smallest

action you do start with a need the

reason you guys are sitting over here

also so is either out of some need is

some expectation or desire right you you

sleep you eat you you you you date

people you buy products you send gift to

people you you you appreciate your

employees you appreciate your boss you

travel you read whatever you do the

starting point is some need expectation

or desire and it is one of those things

right either biological psychological

social emotional functional spiritual

need or desire now need is something

that is in it that happens me that is

very that is very core that has very

high driving Powers so I did not have

the desire to drink water see there's a

difference between need and desire and

I'll connect this later when we talk

about developing products why a lot of

products fail that one is that I need to

drink water and one is that I desire to

drink water those are two different

things and third is that I'm expected to

drink water right so certain actions

that rriv by needs that happen that take

place sometimes we do things out of

expectations because my parents expect

me to do something the family expect me

to do something the society expect me to

do something right and certain things I

do because I have the desire I don't

need to do them nobody's expecting me to

do them but I desire to do them for

example some of you are attending this

session right now right you are here out

of need you have the need to learn more

you are working on a startup and you

really very genuinely focused on the

startup and you want to take it to the

next level and you have that need to

learn more about how to understand my

customers how do I evaluate

opportunities and that is why you're

taking every you know every opportunity

to be here some of you are probably

sacrificing your lunch or some other

commitments to be here while at the same

time this very audience there are some

of you are here out of

expectation because you are a part of

the cohort being run by vadani

Foundation because you have facilitator

to probably Shake sent you a message you

got a message from the team and since

you're a part of the cohort you are

expected to be here probably your your

attendance is being taken that is going

to be counted so some of you are here

out of that

expectation and some of you probably are

not there you are part of the C maybe

but you know in fact some so there I saw

some of my colleagues over here some fac

people who are experts who work as a

facilitators they also teach right I saw

Amit over here a is there sh is also

attending so Shake of course he's a part

of the code he has to be there but some

other facilitators also here these

people don't need they already know most

of what I'm going to talk about right

nobody's expecting them to be here but

they are here out of the desire that

okay I also teach this I also talk about

this but there is somebody else who's

going to come and talk about the topic

he might have a different perspective

and I have the desire to capture all

those perspectives so that when I go

back to math sessions I can also share

those perspectives right so same happens

with your customer same happens with the

products there are certain products that

address needs there are certain products

that address expectations there are

certain products that address desires

and same way the customers who buy your

product also fall into these three

categories now what happens when there's

a need or expectation design me is

there's an internal disequilibrium that

happens this's is sense of unbalance

imbalance imbalance that happens in me

right and that imbalance either leads to

some kind of a pain frustration sadness

disappointment uneasiness loneliness Etc

right so when I had the need to drink

water there was an imbalance a sense of

uncomfortableness right a sense of

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uneasiness