Field Trips

The desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world. John LeCarré

Research, questioning, listening, analysing are all critical elements of the creative process. However, there is no substitute for personal, direct experience. As a science, it’s called anthropology. In business research, it’s frequently called learning journeys. For the rest of us, it’s called a field trip.

While field trips can range from the casual and impromptu, or from formal and pedagogical, the basic objectives remain the same: to get a better understanding of human nature through observation and discovery. More so, by understanding the present, field trips are one of the most critical ways to understand and predict the future. The best explorations are those which seek to find the people who are looking ahead and thinking differently.

Oftentimes, the field trip is combined with – or turns into – a brainstorm because pivotal field trips braionuncover real or potential insights about what might be. Depending upon the urgent or the surprising aspects of the insights, the ideas begin to flow automatically and unexpectedly.

There are variety of ways to set up field trips, but a few essentials are common to any type.

• A knowledgeable guide, who might also play the role of the facilitator. Sometimes the guide has a support team who helps coordinate the activities or logistics, such as transportation and accommodation.
• Participants, who might range anywhere on the learning curve from highly educated to uninitiated.
• An agenda which might be specific to one situation, theme or hypothesis, or might combine a variety of elements, such as meetings with the target audience or its influencers (focus groups to informal conversations); site visits to locations where the audiences live, work or play; or events, workshops, prototypes and best practices which educate and inform about the target audience and related topics.

Specific points about the agenda:

• Make sure it’s provocative. Don’t just go to places to confirm or justify your hypotheses. At the same time, go with an open mind.
• Allow time for flexibility in your schedule.
• Part of the agenda should also include time for reflection, discussion and debate. Again, depending upon the type of insights uncovered during the field trip, it’s best to plan for reflection as soon as possible to keep the learnings and knowledge fresh.

A well-organised and challenging field trip has residual effect beyond the tangible outcomes of quality information and a productive brainstorm. Teams can be transformed by the group experience, not to mention they are fun, positive, stimulating and refreshing.