Ethnography Ethnography Consideration Sets “Empathy is even better than talking in the same language.” ~Rumi Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 You See But You Don’t Observe Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Identify a Problem: Ethnography http://www.euronews.com/2017/03/14/saudi-arabia-launches-girls-council-without-the-girls What do you see? Saudi Arabia launches girls' council, without the girls Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Identify a Problem: Ethnography What do you see? All-male White House health bill discussing women’s health (2017) The first two pictures bias the third one What do you see? 17 US generals and admirals in Chisinau (2016) Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Identifying a Problem: Ethnography Another gender distraction (AACN conference) Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Identify a Problem: Ethnography This is directly from their pre-assignment Electricity everywhere Traffic is really difficult Not much light No clear direction for customers Car in front of store blocking access Electric wires everywhere Traffic is really difficult Not much light No clear direction for cars No clear direction for customers Car parked in front of store blocking access What do you see? Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Identify a Problem: Ethnography No men All Caucasian Lot of space Most individuals are looking away Most hair seems styled Individuals seem healthy Using furniture as a prop Ask them to observe. After 7 seconds, the picture starts fading slowly (takes 10 minutes). So, they get about 15 seconds of observation time. What do you see? Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Identify a Problem: Ethnography Interesting Most individuals are looking away Using furniture as a prop Lots of space Most hair seems styled Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Identify a Problem: Ethnography Interesting Most individuals are looking away Using furniture as a prop Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Ethnography The scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures A systematic written record of what a researcher observes and learns while participating in the daily rounds of the lives of others Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Consideration Sets Spend 1 minute coming up with problems that need solving Spend 2 minutes coming up with more problems that need solving with regards to the education system (broadly defined). What mental processes did you go through? Do you appreciate of how their brain went through the search process? Q1 Ask them what mental processes they went through. Really push on the self-reflection of how their brain went through the search process. Q2 This is actually easier than the first question. Even though it’s a subset, it actually helps the creative process. Note we’re also going to revisit this question. Was this easier than the previous question? We will revisit this question Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Identify a Problem – Consideration Sets A group of targeted information channels that can be explicitly selected & searched based on prior knowledge Common blind spot of failed entrepreneurs An entrepreneur’s consideration set will be unique based on idiosyncratic prior knowledge, and ongoing feedback from previously selected channels. You look in the direction you know. That’s why why it’s so important to get more life experiences comforting that WHATEVER they know will have opportunities for innovation. Perhaps more importantly, ETHNOGRAPHY GIVES YOU THIS PRIOR KNOWLEDGE! Note this doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t try to be entrepreneurs. They just need to recognize why so many people fail. Also, this process isn’t really specific to startups. Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Consideration Sets & Prior Knowledge 40 The average age of successful start-up founders in high-growth industries 2x likely 55+ than 20-34 High-growth start-ups According to research by Vivek Wadhwa, an academic and tech entrepreneur and the Kauffman Foundation, According to research by Vivek Wadhwa, an academic and tech entrepreneur, and the Kauffman Foundation Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Consideration Sets Exercise A group of targeted information channels that can be explicitly selected and searched based on prior knowledge. An entrepreneur’s consideration set will be unique based on idiosyncratic prior knowledge, and ongoing feedback from previously selected channels. Identify potential consideration sets with regards to the education system. The more strongly the consideration sets are based on your personal knowledge, the more potential they will have. Discuss your consideration sets with your group members. Select 3 consideration sets to explore more deeply. Through the lens of each consideration set, come up with as many problems as you can that need to be solved. No problem should be considered too big or too small. Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018

Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018 Ethnography: Recap Ethnography The scientific description of the customs A systematic written record while participating in the daily lives of others Consideration Sets A group of targeted information channels that can be explicitly selected & searched based on prior knowledge Salman Azhar & Friends in 2018