Reflection – Storytelling Tool 

 Challenge : 

 Experience in the digital advertising space indicates that it is an adaptive and innovative industry , but   one in which opportunities for employing the hallmarks of design thinking for innovation abound .   My   work involves particular focus on search marketing , so I am continually surrounded by reams of high   quality data about what people are looking for and how they are doing so , along with contextual and   demographic signals forming a fuller picture of these seekers and their needs .   As such , I found this   course ’s emphasis on design thinking as a “ human centered ” undertaking informed by a sympathetic   and empathetic mindset particularly striking . 

 With high volumes of anonymized , yet specific , data signals constantly accruing , there is an element of   insight into real - time human needs , but the full picture of the customer ’s journey and the deeper   motivations behind what they are searching can remain obscure .   When deciding how to deploy media   budget across various digital tactics that span the conversion funnel from consideration to purchase ,   one is inclined to optimize against the metrics observed in association with a wide range of categorical   data .   Using a this data in a reactive manner naturally limits the ability to preemptively position   campaigns in response to emerging search trends .   Arriving at conclusions about what users want based on this data , in isolation , may lead to missing both unarticulated needs and opportunities to cross- pollinate ideas of what “ wows ” and “ works ” with those helping to bring new products to market . 

 Selection : 

 Toward the end of the course , I was particularly struck by Saeid referencing Rilke ’s advice to   “ live the questions ” and “ live your way into the answer . ”   This quote underscored the importance of the storytelling tool for design thinking , particularly within the context of the challenge above .   As touched   upon in the course material , I am seeking to move beyond the restrictions on investigating new ideas   when working with large data sets from the past , and instead see what “ thinking in time ” uncovers   above the separation between “ what is ” and a version of “ what if ” that that ultimately “ wows . ”   I think   that the relatable , human - centric aspect of storytelling can play an important role in knowledge   gathering and brainstorming among multiple stakeholders in an organization , as well as building   narratives of customer experience to inform innovation .   Recalling the George and Geoff example from the course , I believe that this tool can help avoid the stagnation of data paralysis and provide a relatable framework for quickly testing new ideas . 

 Application : 

 While I have not been able to fully test the storytelling tool in the digital / search advertising context yet , I do have ideas for how to approach doing so .   I believe it would be helpful to augment regular cross- functional standup / status meetings with a storytelling component .   While meetings of this type can   result in helpful collaboration , it is easy for these sessions to slip into a round - robin recount of “ what   you ’re working on ” that washes over many attendees that are focused on other day - to - day roles .   Even   if everyone can coordinate effectively to discharge their existing obligations , doing so does not   necessarily foster innovation ; everyone speaks a slightly different dialect of the brand ’s language . 

 In his statement on the storytelling tool , Jesus Brown said , “ every great brand has a story . ”   Turning   standup meeting attendees into brand storytellers will help everyone speak in a mutually intelligible   and engaging way .   I propose sending these stakeholders home with a top performing and a low 

 performing product on a regular cadence , with the task to return to the next scheduled meeting with a   few sentence story about their experience using the products themselves .   To augment any formal   ethnographic research efforts in progress , engaging family , friends , and community members in this   product trial experience would be strongly encouraged .   After everyone has told their stories , a brief   comment session to surface highlights and commonalities will be key to translate these experiences into potential innovation .   To ensure that current or future insights arising from these experiences are not   lost , record keeping of the stories told at each meeting would rotate equally among the attendees on an   ongoing basis . 

 Insight : 

 I hope that the standup meeting approach can embody Jesus Brown ’s view that storytelling “ creates a   cause ” and can serve to encapsulate a digestible combination of data , hard facts , and a   recommendation .   In doing so , different stakeholders normally tasked with bringing a brand ’s various   products to market will be forced to develop real world experience with a host of items , thereby   thinking of them with a customer empathy mindset .   Members of marketing , finance , and R&D who   may view some products simply as SKUs around which various historical metrics gather , will now see   them as parts of their everyday lives .   The customer has no conception of these internal metrics , they   only know their own experiences , yet these experiences are the arbiter of these metrics ’ favorability .    Developing these experiences within the company will allow for more rapid prototyping of solutions to the pain points or needs discovered firsthand .   Because everyone will be talking in everyday language ,   rather than metrics , a greater sense of comfort about placing “ small bets quickly ” will arise .   Rather   than waiting for some sense of certainty to arise from a statistically significant slice of the search   marketing pool exhibiting a certain inclination , marketing coverage can reach out and address those   revealed needs earlier , all while informing product development around those needs . 

 Approach : 

 In developing this recommended storytelling method , I recognized some potential shortcomings and   limitations .   Depending on the meeting cadence and nature of the product or service at hand , not all   team members may be capable of testing on their own .   Additionally , while the storytelling method is   intended to foster easier conversation through natural discussion , some participants may be nervous   about “ performing ” their personal story among a group of colleagues .   To this end , the context may   dictate written ( and potentially anonymous ) feedback from the team as a preferred method that reveals   even more honest opinions that are likely closer to those of real customers .   If time and resources to   digest insights allow , this written feedback concept could be extended to the company as a whole in a   suggestion - box manner .   This method would encourage deeper engagement and customer empathy   across the organization .   More experience touchpoints can provide a quicker path from “ what is ” to   “ what works ” by allowing stakeholders to step out of their internal conception of the product and into   that of the customer . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Storytelling Tool 

 Challenge : 

 Experience in the digital advertising space indicates that it is an adaptive and innovative industry , but   one in which opportunities for employing the hallmarks of design thinking for innovation abound .   My   work involves particular focus on search marketing , so I am continually surrounded by reams of high   quality data about what people are looking for and how they are doing so , along with contextual and   demographic signals forming a fuller picture of these seekers and their needs .   As such , I found this   course ’s emphasis on design thinking as a “ human centered ” undertaking informed by a sympathetic   and empathetic mindset particularly striking . 

 With high volumes of anonymized , yet specific , data signals constantly accruing , there is an element of   insight into real - time human needs , but the full picture of the customer ’s journey and the deeper   motivations behind what they are searching can remain obscure .   When deciding how to deploy media   budget across various digital tactics that span the conversion funnel from consideration to purchase ,   one is inclined to optimize against the metrics observed in association with a wide range of categorical   data .   Using a this data in a reactive manner naturally limits the ability to preemptively position   campaigns in response to emerging search trends .   Arriving at conclusions about what users want based on this data , in isolation , may lead to missing both unarticulated needs and opportunities to cross- pollinate ideas of what “ wows ” and “ works ” with those helping to bring new products to market . 

 Selection : 

 Toward the end of the course , I was particularly struck by Saeid referencing Rilke ’s advice to   “ live the questions ” and “ live your way into the answer . ”   This quote underscored the importance of the storytelling tool for design thinking , particularly within the context of the challenge above .   As touched   upon in the course material , I am seeking to move beyond the restrictions on investigating new ideas   when working with large data sets from the past , and instead see what “ thinking in time ” uncovers   above the separation between “ what is ” and a version of “ what if ” that that ultimately “ wows . ”   I think   that the relatable , human - centric aspect of storytelling can play an important role in knowledge   gathering and brainstorming among multiple stakeholders in an organization , as well as building   narratives of customer experience to inform innovation .   Recalling the George and Geoff example from the course , I believe that this tool can help avoid the stagnation of data paralysis and provide a relatable framework for quickly testing new ideas . 

 Application : 

 While I have not been able to fully test the storytelling tool in the digital / search advertising context yet , I do have ideas for how to approach doing so .   I believe it would be helpful to augment regular cross- functional standup / status meetings with a storytelling component .   While meetings of this type can   result in helpful collaboration , it is easy for these sessions to slip into a round - robin recount of “ what   you ’re working on ” that washes over many attendees that are focused on other day - to - day roles .   Even   if everyone can coordinate effectively to discharge their existing obligations , doing so does not   necessarily foster innovation ; everyone speaks a slightly different dialect of the brand ’s language . 

 In his statement on the storytelling tool , Jesus Brown said , “ every great brand has a story . ”   Turning   standup meeting attendees into brand storytellers will help everyone speak in a mutually intelligible   and engaging way .   I propose sending these stakeholders home with a top performing and a low 

 performing product on a regular cadence , with the task to return to the next scheduled meeting with a   few sentence story about their experience using the products themselves .   To augment any formal   ethnographic research efforts in progress , engaging family , friends , and community members in this   product trial experience would be strongly encouraged .   After everyone has told their stories , a brief   comment session to surface highlights and commonalities will be key to translate these experiences into potential innovation .   To ensure that current or future insights arising from these experiences are not   lost , record keeping of the stories told at each meeting would rotate equally among the attendees on an   ongoing basis . 

 Insight : 

 I hope that the standup meeting approach can embody Jesus Brown ’s view that storytelling “ creates a   cause ” and can serve to encapsulate a digestible combination of data , hard facts , and a   recommendation .   In doing so , different stakeholders normally tasked with bringing a brand ’s various   products to market will be forced to develop real world experience with a host of items , thereby   thinking of them with a customer empathy mindset .   Members of marketing , finance , and R&D who   may view some products simply as SKUs around which various historical metrics gather , will now see   them as parts of their everyday lives .   The customer has no conception of these internal metrics , they   only know their own experiences , yet these experiences are the arbiter of these metrics ’ favorability .    Developing these experiences within the company will allow for more rapid prototyping of solutions to the pain points or needs discovered firsthand .   Because everyone will be talking in everyday language ,   rather than metrics , a greater sense of comfort about placing “ small bets quickly ” will arise .   Rather   than waiting for some sense of certainty to arise from a statistically significant slice of the search   marketing pool exhibiting a certain inclination , marketing coverage can reach out and address those   revealed needs earlier , all while informing product development around those needs . 

 Approach : 

 In developing this recommended storytelling method , I recognized some potential shortcomings and   limitations .   Depending on the meeting cadence and nature of the product or service at hand , not all   team members may be capable of testing on their own .   Additionally , while the storytelling method is   intended to foster easier conversation through natural discussion , some participants may be nervous   about “ performing ” their personal story among a group of colleagues .   To this end , the context may   dictate written ( and potentially anonymous ) feedback from the team as a preferred method that reveals   even more honest opinions that are likely closer to those of real customers .   If time and resources to   digest insights allow , this written feedback concept could be extended to the company as a whole in a   suggestion - box manner .   This method would encourage deeper engagement and customer empathy   across the organization .   More experience touchpoints can provide a quicker path from “ what is ” to   “ what works ” by allowing stakeholders to step out of their internal conception of the product and into   that of the customer .
### Output: 