Generative Research it is!

What I cannot live without?

Samsung S3 – For many years I have lived away from my loved once. At times this gets quite depressing, but my only way out is either to call them or contact them through watsapp. I have no idea how I would have survived if not for my S3. My S3 is pretty much used at least for 12 hours a day. Do not get me wrong, I am not really a mobile addict – though that is what my close friends call me J, it is just that I use it for other things as well – Running app, counting my calories, listening to music and mailing people. Definitely number one on my list of what I cannot live without!

Travelling – Who does not love travelling? I am sure most people do, but in my case, I really cannot live without travelling. One of my main goals in life – Travel to a large number of places in the world. This passion does not end with merely visiting the places, but also to do as much of the outdoor activities as possible. Luckily for my, my husband’s goals align with mine :), so there is not a single long weekend we end up sitting at home.

What I care about?

Baking – This may sound weird to you, but I am quite serious. When I am stressed out, or need a break, what I usually end up doing is baking. My interest in baking made me take several classes on cake decorating this Sundays. A normal person would be sleeping late on a Sunday morning, whereas I was sitting in a baking class for 3 hours every Sunday morning, for 2 months. I definitely can live without baking, but definitely love trying out different recopies and amazing people with my cakes all the time. Now you know who to contact next time you crave for a cup cake :)

Digital Ecosystems

Web Search – Let it be buying a product or researching about news, the first thing I do is browse the website. I use different websites for different things. For example – when I wanted to buy a laptop, I went to Amazon.com, and did a feature – price comparison, ended up ordering a laptop within an hour. Clearly why I love searching the web as my first resort!

Online Friends – ‘I am a people person’ - that being said, there needs to be some trust before I could believe someone’s word.  If I had to buy something which is of great importance to me, I would need at least four of my close friends approving of it. I ask either my close friends online, or friends who are an expert in the field of product I am looking for. For example – if it is something related to fitness, my brother and husband are two people I ping online. I am too impatient to wait and call them whenever they get free. 

Catching the Bus to school

Usually I walk about ten minutes and sit wait for the bus for another ten minutes. This is when I listen to music, browse my face book, and check the weather for the day in order to plan my workout. Most of my planning for the day takes place during this time.

Talking to friends

I am pretty much exhausted by this part of my day, ie before going to bed. Fortunately for me, my close friends live in time zones, which is perfect for me to call. So I end up talking over the phone, either with my friends or parents. At the same time, I end up browsing for browsing for show times, cooking, playing some music on the background. Basically this is the time when my brain does not need to think as much.

Journey Mapping With Naveen

The person I interviewed was my husband Naveen. Naveen is known as the planning expert amongst his friend - just because he does not only love travelling, but is also amazing at planning trips. First thing that came to his mind, when I asked him about a trip he planned was Hawaii. He and his friends had always wanted to make this dream vacation which never seems to happen. But when I decided to join my MBA program, I wanted a nice break from the real world, before getting into the stressful life. So his primary influencer was me. :)

He said he started the initial planning process three months in advance. The first step was to book the flight tickets, since that always turned out to be the most expensive part of a trip. He said this was one of the most challenging part of planning, mainly because there were ten people in total who were supposed to go, of which two dropped out last minute, due to budget constraints. To make things worse, two of the travelers were from California, and the rest from Dallas, which was where Naveen lived. After great trouble of coordinating the process, he decided to book the tickets with his two friends in Dallas – Dimple and Daya and then sent the itinerary to his other two friends from California – Vidya and Mathan. Based on the itinerary, Vidya and Mathan booked their tickets. Naveen was super excited at this point, but little did he know, the rest was going to be super challenging.

He divided the tasks among the group members. He took charge of the accommodation and deciding on the activities. He used several travel websites such as 101 things to do as his source of information. In addition to this, he also spoke to a number of friends who had travelled to Hawaii before and narrowed down the spots to visit.  

The activities he deiced on were

-       Watch sunrise at Haleakala

-       Road to Hana

-       8 mile hike along the Napali Coast

-       13 mile ocean kayaking along the Napali Coast

-       Hike to see the crater in big island.

He said vidya was not happy, since all the activities were strenuous and wanted something easy. Therefore he added in a ‘dinner cruise’ in Maui.

He said he was immensely happy when all 8 people agreed on the spots and was relieved things were going his way. But then he had no idea how complicated things were going to get.

According to his plan the kayak tour was to be followed the day after the long hike.  The kayak tour was the part I was very keen on doing. Unfortunately Naveen was unable to get entry passes for 6 people for the kayaking tour. His friends said we should do everything as a group, and therefore not go ahead with the kayak tour. Unfortunately for Naveen it was a hard situation, since he had to decide if he should fulfill his wife’s wish or just listen to his friends. He said he was very confused, and was frustrated with planning such a long vacation. After great thought he decided to mail his friends about this kayak tour, and fortunately vidya and mathan dropped out, since it was too much of a workout for them.

-With travel guides after the long ocean kayak tour

So Naveen said he booked the four tickets, and was glad he did this;

‘I still find it surprising that after all the planning; only you and I ended up doing the open ocean kayak tour.’

Finally he said, this was the most challenging trip he had ever planned, but it was also the most pleasing one. Till date, the seven people with him thank him for putting together such and amazing trip together!!!

Emapthy Map

It is easy to find men full of dreams and aspirations, but there is only one in a million who actually lives and achieves it. The person I am going to write is about one such person, let us call him Sunder.

He was born 55 years ago in a small island known as Sri Lanka. Like many others in his country his goal was to become a chartered accountant and eventually an entrepreneur. But fate had something else in mind.

In 1983 there was a racial riot in Sri Lanka, during which all of Sunder’s money was stolen. Most of the minority groups migrated to other countries to survive, but what made Sunder unique was his determination to excel in the country he lived in. The need for money made him quit his studies and set up his own business at an early stage in life. Today he is a successful entrepreneur who owns a conglomerate! He won the ‘most influential entrepreneur of the country’ award in 2012.

Time is what matters most to him. If he had to pay an extra $100 to get somewhere five minutes earlier he would do so. Don’t get me wrong – that does not mean he does not know the value of money. It just means that he has the concept of ‘time value of money’ mastered – 10 minutes for him is more valuable than $100. That being said, he is a very practical person, and does not have preoccupations about anything. Any product that seems to be most user friendly is what he would buy. Right now he owns, an ipad, mac book, I phone, Samsung S4 and a Microsoft tablet – clearly not a brand loyal person.

The next thing that matters to him is prestige.

What will the society think of me if I do XYZ? – A common question in his mind. 

Travelling for work is a major part of Sunder’s schedule. If I landed in Sri Lanka to surprise him right now, it would be a stupid idea, as he himself does not know when he would be travelling next. Apart from work, he spends his time with family and is involved spiritual activities. He values people for how genuine they are - trust once broken will never be forgiven.

He is well respected in the society he lives in. As people say,he is

-          A man of principles

-          Most disciplined man ever

-          Fun loving

Ironically this is not what immediate family members feel, especially his children. What they feel is

-          Why does he care about the society and what others think?

-          Why does he spend so much time on social services instead of just relaxing?

He is a very caring person – there have been many times, when students from India meet him out of the blue, and tell him how they do not have money to continue their education. Smart Move! Education is the single most important thing in a person’s life according to Sunder, and that is why he has an educational trust, through which he donates fees for undergraduate studies. 

Well his friends love to spend time with him- not only because he is easy to be with, but also because he is very knowledgeable. Most of the conversations involve currency rates, new business ventures, stock markets etc. It is very rare to see him without a calculator for more than ten minutes at most.   His wife often jokes saying - Were you born with a calculator in your hand?

He has NEVER been an employee ever,  since he was always an entrepreneur at heart. So a good question would be - what do his employees think of him. Not surprisingly opposite of what I have written so far.

His employees believe he is the most difficult boss to work with. Usually a task is given with a deadline of a couple of hours, but not in Sunder’s case. The work he wants to get done has to start next minute. There is no waiting time. And this brings us back to what I said earlier - time is precious for him. 

Influencers believe it is easy to be convince him provided the data is available. If you could prove that a product would be very useful, or could serve a purpose better than an existing product – the sale is made!

Fear does not exist in his vocabulary; I guess it does not exist in any successful entrepreneur’s vocabulary. Risk and fear do not go hand in hand. But this is compensated by the frustration he experiences the moment something goes against what he planned. In real world not everything happens the way you want, but that is not what Sunder believes in. If he wants something, or wants someone to do something - it has to happen in the exact way. 

Obstacles are his notion of prestige and living for the society & family. This prevents him from loosening up and at times enjoying life to the fullest. He hopes to see his children settled down soon – again from his perception of settling, which is very different from what his children think. And hopes to make as much profits as he possible can. 

Finally what do I feel about him – the most influential person in my life. No matter what goes wrong, all I have to do is speak with him for 5 min. He sees life very positively; every problem has a solution according to him. I feel blessed to have lived besides him for 28 years. There have been many times we have argued since we have different priorities and perceptions in life. But no matter what he says always turns out to be the right thing.If only I listened, not an easy thing to do!