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Primary Research. Personal Legends. Talking Sticks.

Businesses, organizations, and non-profts grow with the level o frst-hand

experiences they have with their prospects, customers, members, or donors.

 These entities both know themselves and also know their audience, their

tribe.

 This is the elationship !ge " the era o paying attention. Think o it as

winning business by paying respect.

 To know yoursel you have to go through a detailed strategic process and

careully, consciously create a vibrant culture. To know your audience, you

have to learn to respect people deeply. The primacy o compassionate and

sensitive primary, frst-hand, narrative research is the key that unlocks this

world o possibilities.

 The hardest thing or organizations to do to accomplish such growth is to

realize that traditional marketing research and segmentation is outmoded.

 The reason# it looks at the people with whom it should be trying to cultivate arelationship as a target, a one-dimensional ob$ect, rather than a ully alive

human sub$ect with a treasure trove o stories, memories, dreams, hopes,

and ears. %n summary, the old method edits out the humanity. !nd, winning

the innovation game is about touching humanity, creating something o value

or real people.

&hen the author o The Alchemist  and other books, 'aulo (oelho, was

inducted into the Brazilian !cademy o )etters, he said, *The glory o the

world is transitory, and we should not measure our lives by it, but by the

choice we make to ollow our personal legend, to believe in our utopias, and

to fght or our dreams.+ !nd then he wrote, *&e are all protagonists o our

own lives, and it is oten the anonymous heroes who make the deepestmark.+

By honoring people in this spirit, primary research gets to the heart o the

matterthe human experience with a product, service, or organizationand

taps into the personal legends o each o the people with whom they are

working.

ost o the people working in this feld are consumer anthropologists who

have been trained to listen respectully, probe deeply, and stay attuned or

verbal and non-verbal clues. This tradition goes back to pre-history days in

the legend o the Taking tick. The Talking tick was a method used by /ative

!mericans, to let everyone speak their mind during a council meeting, a typeo tribal meeting. !ccording to the indigenous !mericans0 tradition, the stick

was imbued with spiritual 1ualities that called up the spirit o their ancestors

to guide them in making good decisions. The stick ensured that all members

who wished to speak had their ideas heard. !ll members o the circle were

valued e1ually.

 The rules o the Talking tick ollow# &hoever holds the talking stick has

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within their hands the power o words. 2nly they can speak while holding the

stick, and the other council members must remain silent. The eagle eather

tied to the stick gives the speaker the courage and wisdom to speak truthully

and wisely. The rabbit ur on the end o the stick reminds him that his words

must come rom his heart.

 The history o !! 3!lcoholic !nonymous4 and other step programs and the

practice o psychotherapy are all based on this awareness# that speaking the

truth is healing. But it is healing or the group as a whole because as each

individual listens, in silence and reverence, a whole world o understanding

opens up.

 This world o understanding becomes the basis o innovations that make lives

better and makes organizations more meaningul and signifcant.