"You are the expert of your own experience"

That is, don't let others tell you what you just saw/heard/felt/experienced.  You know yourself and your reality better than anyone else.

That's what Tom Kelley said tonight at the Dean's Speaker Series here at Haas.  I'll tie this quote back in, in just a bit.

His talk, based on what he calls the "Red Queen Effect" (derived from Alice Through the Looking Glass), can be summed up into this: businesses must constantly innovate.  Not only that, but businesses must innovate faster and better than their competitors.

In his book The Ten Faces of Innovation, he outlines the various roles required for successful innovation within an organization.  One of which he calls "The Anthropologist"--the people who go out and observe, looking for problems. 

Many times these problems exist in plain site and most go on with their lives without noticing.  Not the Anthropologists.  They say, "What was that? What was that that I just saw?".

Kelley gives the example of a turn-style in an airport that enters into a train station.  The problem is that these turn-styles are small, narrow and difficult to navigate with baggage.  Being that it is a large international airport with a major rail line leading into a city, people have a lot of baggage. 

With both hands full of baggage how do they insert their token to get through?  They must drop the baggage, throw it over, pass it to their spouse, etc....Not exactly hassle-free.

The anthropologist saw the problem.  The architects who built it didn't.  From the administrators to the janitors who walk by this problem everyday, they all missed it.

So, the next time you see something with your anthropologist eyes and say "Hey what was that?", don't let anyone tell you it's nothing.  You are the expert of your own experience.

By the way, this guy was an excellent speaker.  See him if you have a chance.