I laugh out loud every time I see this clip from the “wrap rage” episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” At first, we see Larry David smiling as he spots a gift on his kitchen counter addressed to him. He reads the card and begins to unwrap the gift. But he soon finds himself in a maddening struggle to free the gift from its impossible plastic packaging. Within moments he is awkwardly stabbing and kicking the package, and then cursing and breaking into a sweat—until he gives up, throws his unopened gift to the floor, and stomps on it.
Who hasn’t experienced something like this? In the same way that packaging engineers can be tuned out to customer needs and experience, we at nonprofits face similar challenges. How can we ensure we aren’t missing the mark on discerning the true needs of our beneficiaries?
Design Immersion Experiences
An immersion experience is intentionally designed for entering and engaging in an environment such that one feels inside it and part of it, noticing small details and context. For example, Kingswood Trust is a United Kingdom charity that helps adults with autism and Asperger’s syndrome live independently. Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Jeanne Liedtka describes how this nonprofit sought out immersion experiences in the client’s home environment.
One Kingswood team member noted how an adult with autism seemed to damage objects in his home, such as picking at and pulling out the stuffing of a leather sofa. The observer first assumed that this was problematic behavior, but on further observation she realized that he had identified a relaxing audio-tactile experience with a self-therapeutic effect. After making similar observations of their clients in their home environments, the team began to ask, how might Kingwood design methods for independent living that took into account the importance of tactile experiences for their clients? They began asking, how could audio-tactile experiences be built into tasks like making a sandwich or washing clothes?
Experience the Unexpected
One Saturday morning I had my own immersion experience. I rose early to cook breakfast at a homeless shelter. Upon entering the kitchen, I soon realized my expectations had been way off. I had pictured making my specialty, breakfast quesadillas, and enjoying leisurely conversations with the homeless who had come to share a meal together.
Instead, the food line wrapped halfway around the block, and we were working fast to keep up. The volunteers and shelter residents formed an assembly line in a hot, noisy, industrial-size kitchen. All morning, I was tasked with cooking the eggs and remembering special requests (no salt, over easy, over medium, scrambled). One of the shelter’s residents was showing me the ropes and became frustrated by my slowness. There was no time for leisurely conversations! I was surprised that the most requested dish was corn beef hash. But then I realized that they knew they might not eat again until dinner and were loading up on protein. My immersion experience in their world for a few hours helped me better understand their realities and ways in which they were coping. I stepped out of my bubble. I learned.
Each of us sees the world through our own lens and experience, and immersion experiences like these help us to challenge our assumptions and blind spots, to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. In the words of Seth Godwin, “Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem.”
Listening deeply to those we serve will help us improve how we operate. It can challenge our assumptions and break us out of our bubbles. But we have to make the deliberate and intentional effort to do so.