Module 3: Identifying entrepreneurial opportunities in your Global Challenge

3.1 Themes & learning outcomes

Themes

• Opportunity recognition

• Value-free observation

Intended learning outcomes

After finishing this module you will be able to:

• Identify entrepreneurial opportunities through participant and non-participant observation

• Recognise the difference between observation and assumption as an important step for validating hypotheses pertaining to entrepreneurial opportunities

• Practice observation and share outcomes and reflections on the experience

• Identify and explain components of other cultural perspectives when exploring subjects within the Global Challenge

• Understand the difference between description, interpretation and evaluation, understand the difference between generalisation, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination and differentiate between description and assumptions while observing

• Initiate and develop interactions with culturally different others and suspend judgment in valuing their interactions with culturally different others

Time required: 5-7 hours.

3.2 Introduction

After doing the team assignment in the previous module you should have some idea of your team’s knowledge and competences, and you may even have narrowed down your Global Challenge to something workable. In this module you should turn your attention outside of yourself and your team. It is time to observe what is out there that may affect or improve your idea – you need to turn your challenge into an opportunity!

Value-free observation

To identify entrepreneurial opportunities in your Global Challenge, you need to master the skill of value-free observation. When confronted with something new, have you ever found yourself thinking, “This situation feels strange,” or “I’m not sure how to read what’s going on right now?”

The ‘Description, Interpretation, Evaluation’ (D.I.E.) model is a practical tool you can use when observing unfamiliar intercultural or even ‘strange’ situations. These models can help you postpone judgment and possibly prevent a misunderstanding, miscommunication, and/or confusion.

Janet Bennett, Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute, and Milton Bennett, founding Director of the Intercultural Development Research Institute created the D.I.E. model in the 1970s while working in a group of intercultural workshop facilitators at the University of Minnesota. Their goal was to teach participants how to suspend judgment while interacting across cultures. Since then, the D.I.E. model has become one of the most widely used intercultural exercises worldwide.

The model has a lot of touch points with methods and frameworks used in entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, such as participant and non-participant observation. D.I.E. can also be useful in describing situations which may be familiar, yet are recast by looking at them ‘from the outside’ with fresh eyes, asking why things are done in a particular way, thereby gently teasing apart underlying practices, behaviours, beliefs and value systems.

To contextualise and explain the need and importance for value-free observation for both intercultural communication and opportunity recognition watch the following two videos:

1. First impressions can be misleading as the below award winning video produced by the Guardian . .(1986) demonstrates.

Can you remember a situation where your first impression was misleading?

2. Observing facts (rather than your interpretation of them) is crucial in the process of opportunity recognition. How you see others is influenced by your own cultural perspective.

Rewatch the video from the "Introduction to Intercultural Communication" in Module 1.

Ask yourself:

• What is your cultural perspective?

• How do you look at others?

Write down your thoughts.

Description, Interpretation, Evaluation (D.I.E.)

The D.I.E. model has three steps, and each step has a key question that needs to be answered in order to progress to the next step. Description is something you do by using your five senses: see, smell, touch, taste, and hear.  With this first step, the goal is to describe it through observable facts. The key question for Description is:

Description:  What do I see?

Interpretation is what you do when you make an assumption about the observation. Here, the goal is to focus on the various interpretations or explanations as to what might be going on in the situation. Now you are moving from objective descriptions to subjective interpretations, although an interpretation is neutral and should not have a positive or negative label. The key question here is:

Interpretation:  What do I think (about what I see)?

Evaluation is what you do when you give an opinion, deciding whether or not the interpretation is good (positive) or bad (negative), acceptable (good) or unacceptable (bad). The key question here is:

Evaluation:  What do I feel (about what I think I see)?

The D.I.E. model is a tool that can help you guide your observations in a neutral way. Often when encountering new situations and cultures, we tend to be quick to judge and do not take the time to mindfully observe. In fact, it is in our human nature to want to classify things when we see them and we frequently cannot control our subconscious, gut reactions. (Remember the videos!)

This model can help you slow down and separate the facts from possible explanations (interpretations), and our judgment of those explanations. Often we evaluate things too quickly, without fully exploring the context of a situation. Being aware of the difference in description, interpretation and evaluation will help you to be more effective in observing your Global Challenge and identifying entrepreneurial opportunities to help tackle that challenge.

Before moving on, check whether you are able to link the concepts of ‘description’, ‘interpretation’ and ‘evaluation’ to their corresponding key questions.

3.3 Warm-up

The D.I.E. model is a great tool for value-free observation. To practice the three steps of the D.I.E. model, your team will be asked to observe an image and categorise your observation in the correct category: description, interpretation, and evaluation. To prepare for this, first individually have a look at the example photos below.

Step 1: Examples

Have a look at the two example photos. What do you see, think and feel?

Below each photo you will find a table with the three categories. You will also find a list of example answers for each category below the table.

Example 1:

Example Answers:

Description: “I see…”

• I see a human figure

• I see a white backdrop

• I see a hand shape

Interpretation: “I think I see…”

• I think I see a woman

• I think I see a woman standing in front of a white wall

• I think I see a woman wearing a white t-shirt

• I think I see a woman covering her own mouth

• I think I see a woman who is burping

• I think I see a woman who is surprised

Evaluation: “I feel … +/-”

• I feel she is ashamed for burping ( - )

• I feel she is pleasantly surprised and hiding a smile behind her hand ( + )

• I feel it’s great she’s trying to be polite ( + )

• I feel she feels sad about burping ( - )

Example 2:

Example Answers:

Description: “I see…”

• I see bird shaped figures

• I see white colours

• I see blue colours

• I see yellow colours

Interpretation: “I think I see…”

• I think I see birds flying

• I think I see clouds

• I think I see smoke

• I think I see a hotel

• I think I see a city hall

Evaluation: “I feel … +/-”

• I feel the building is on fire ( - )

• I feel the city is under attack ( - )

• I feel it is a fresh start of the day ( + )

Step 2: Now over to you...

Arrange a meeting with your entire group to do the following photo exercise together. Each team member should bring a photo that they took themselves. Try to choose a photo of a situation in your home city, at your university in your neighbourhood, that you think shows a link to your Global Challenge.

For the exercise, please follow this procedure:

1. Agree on one photo

At the beginning of the session, have a look at all the photos which your team brought. Your team will need to agree on which photo you would like to use for the purposes of this exercise.

IMPORTANT: No one should comment on or provide a context to their photo. That will come at the end of the activity.

2. List at least 25 observations

Now that your team has agreed to a photo, observe the photo and make a list of different observations about the photo. As a group, try to think of at least 25 observations. Ensure that each team member is able to join in on the conversation to add their observations.

3. Categorise all observations

Once you've compiled your list of observations, take turns (in alphabetical order) assigning the observations to one of the following three categories: description, interpretation and evaluation. Every time a team member categorises an observation, the other team members must share whether they agree with the categorisation. For example, if an observation is deemed a description, but one of the other team members does not agree that it is an observable fact, it is not a description and probably an interpretation or even an evaluation. Continue doing this until all the observations have been categorised.

4. Create potential scenarios

Once you've finished, your team needs to create two potential scenarios for the photo:

• First your team should create the most positive scenario for the photo's context. Be as detailed as possible: What happened? How did they feel? What was so good about this situation?

• After inventing a positive story, you now need to create the most negative scenario possible. Once again, your team should be as detailed as possible.

5. Time for a team vote!

After drafting the two scenarios it is now time to vote. What do you think? Does the photo carry a positive or negative meaning?

6. Verify

Now that you have voted and agreed upon a scenario, it is time to find out if the scenario you voted for is accurate. This means you need to explore the context of the photo. The only way to truly know the meaning of a photo is to ask the person who took the photo if your description, interpretation and evaluation of the photo is correct.

How did your descriptions, interpretations and evaluations compare to the actual context? Write down your thoughts.

3.4 Advice & “know-how”

So, now that you have had a first ‘flavour’ of the role that description, interpretation and evaluation play in the context of ‘reading’ a particular situation, let’s start applying this to entrepreneurial opportunity recognition.

Opportunities: Investigating problem - solution

In the introduction we highlighted that entrepreneurial opportunities are everywhere. Yet, it also depends on a variety of other factors whether an entrepreneurial idea is also an opportunity. The difference between ideas and opportunities is that opportunities are resource and time-constrained as well as dependent on the context in which they occur. They may, for example, only exist for a short period of time. The phrase ‘window of opportunity’ summarises this time-bound notion (as a window can open, but also close).

Every product or service either solves a problem, addresses a need or creates an experience. Hence, in the process of recognising opportunities it is crucially important to understand why people do what they do. We call this process ‘conducting problem observations or interviews’. The following questions may help you:

1. What is the problem? OR What is the need?

2. Who has the problem (describing as accurately as possible the person, user or customer, who has the problem)?

3. How are they solving it now (i.e. what tools, products or services are they using to make this problem ‘go away’)?

Once the problem or need has been accurately described or characterised, the next step is to develop solutions to this problem. Here the emphasis is on a plurality of solutions (rather than just one solution). This is important because customer problems are seldom solved by one ‘perfect’ solution. In most cases, solutions come about through a ‘bricolage concept’, which is to say, taking parts of one solution and merging it with the parts of another solution. The next set of questions is then:

4. What is your solution?

5. Why is your solution better?

In the process of investigating this ‘problem - solution’ it is important to be mindful that this process is not happening in a vacuum or in front of a ‘blank canvas’. Whether entrepreneurial opportunities can develop or be exploited successfully also depends on the existing cultural, political and socioeconomic ‘ecosystem for entrepreneurship’. This ‘ecosystem’ refers to the broader framework conditions conducive (or not conducive) to entrepreneurship. See this graph by Daniel Isenberg and Babson College Global.

This is also where the understanding of the intercultural context comes into play as opportunities are influenced by cultural attitudes, ideas and notions that are specific to the context.

To see an example, read this article about the recent launch of IKEA in India.

What do you find remarkable? Write down your thoughts.

Generalisation, Stereotyping, Prejudice

When making observations about groups of people it is important to understand the difference between generalisation, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.

Generalisations

Generalisations of cultures are broad statements based on facts, experiences, examples, or logic. Broad characterisation of cultural groups can serve as a framework for cultural interactions. For example, think about the research done by Erin Meyer and her book The Culture Map.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes are overgeneralisations; often assuming certain characteristics based on unfounded assumptions. Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but are usually an exaggerated idea of what a group is like. They are widely adopted thoughts representing group statements and interpretations made about a group of people. We stereotype people based on a wide variety of characteristics, such as gender, race, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or marital status, body type, dress, income, career/job, country, state or city of origin, neighbourhood, school, language, vocabulary, complexion, hair colour, clothing, accessories, body art, political party, diet and lifestyle, etc.).

Prejudice

As with stereotypes, prejudice can be either positive or negative. Prejudice is an affective feeling towards a person or group member based solely on that person's group membership. The word is often used to refer to preconceived, usually unfavorable, feelings towards people or a person because of their sex, gender, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, nationality, beauty, occupation, education, criminality, sport team affiliation or other personal characteristics. In this case, it refers to a positive or negative evaluation of another person based on that person's perceived group membership.

Discrimination

Discrimination refers to behaviour. It refers to unjust or negative treatment of a person or a group from other people because they belong to a particular class, group or category. It can be direct, indirect or structural and often results from stereotypes or prejudicial attitudes.

Watch the following video (10 min) that shows a ‘new’ entrepreneurial initiative to help people in Scandinavia. Try to identify examples of generalisations, stereotypes and prejudice that are portrayed in the video.

After watching the video, ask yourself: What is the difference between an entrepreneurial idea that is based on prejudice and an idea based on a generalisation? Write down your thoughts.

Observation and Evaluation

This handout compares two models of intercultural observation (description-interpretation-observation and generalisation, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination), both models include an evaluative step where the observer makes a positive or negative observation. Value-free observation (i.e. observing the facts rather than your interpretation of the facts) is crucial in the process of opportunity recognition.

Watch the short video below to see how the same situation seen by bystanders can lead to very different outcomes:

The following questions may help to clarify:

• How could you check if your observation includes an evaluation?

• How will postponing judgment in your observation lead to more creative solutions?

3.5 Resources

• Nepriakhina, D. (2016). "The Problem-Solution Fit canvas." Medium. Link.

• Nestian Sandu O., and N. Lyamouri-Bajja. (2018). T-KIT 4 Intercultural Learning. Strasbourg: Council of Europe (23–27).

• Johnson, S. (2010). "Where good ideas come from - The natural history of innovation".

3.6 Challenge

In this challenge, you will practice value-free observation and opportunity recognition individually.

Step 1: Observation

Before you begin this exercise, watch this video on observation:

So, this has been a lot to take in... well done of having it made so far! Are you excited to put all the ‘good stuff’ from above into practice?

Good luck and have fun with your individual ‘fly on the wall’ exercise! And never stop asking why...

Step 2: Be a fly on the wall

To practice value-free observation and opportunity recognition go to a place on your university campus or city that you think is relevant to your challenge. If you don’t know where to go exactly, don’t worry. You could ask a few friends, contact a teacher or a colleague, or contact your local government body or tourist office. Ask different people what places come to mind when thinking about your Global Challenge. Talking to other people about your Global Challenge will provide you with more perspective on the issue and will inspire you to connect the topic to a certain spot or area.

Visit the location and find a place to sit down and observe for 30 to 45 minutes. Make a conscious effort not to be distracted by your mobile phones or, even better, switch off your phone during this exercise.

While you observe, make a list of things you are observing in a notebook. These can be observations around behaviour, interactions or consumption habits. It can also be about situations you observe, how spaces are configured or processes organised. Public places, restaurants, parks, train stations, airports, coffee shops or waiting areas are great places to observe how people behave.

For example, you would like to investigate problems or needs around recycling or waste disposal; there is no better place to go than somewhere you can comfortably observe a recycling bin for a while and see how people interact with it (or perhaps ignore it all together). If the latter is the case, then the question is why do they ignore it?

Record a two-minute video of what you have observed and share this video with your teammates.

Each of you should watch the others’ videos.

3.7 Team assignment

Well done on sharing your video logs and observations among your team mates! The next step is to combine all the observations of all your team members, organise a group discussion with your team, and discuss the problems and needs you have observed. You might even have thought of a couple of solutions, however, don’t jump to the solution too quickly. The more problems you have the better!

Step 1: Discuss

Have a discussion among your group on what you have observed:

• What struck you as odd or unusual?

• Did you spot a new trend?

• Was there a process that seemed broken and which could be improved or fixed?

• Sticking with the recycling example, did you notice people struggling to use the ‘wrong’ recycling bin?

During the group discussion ask questions about each others’ observations and learn more about particular needs and problems. Then organise your findings according to these questions:

1. What is the problem? OR What is the need?

2. Who has the problem?

3. How are they solving it now?

If you are asking yourself, there must be a better way of doing this, you are half-way down the entrepreneurial route. Many entrepreneurial ventures also import products or services from other geographies and try to adapt them to their specific contexts (think about the IKEA example). This is also a discussion you can have in your group. Did you recognise a product, service or solution that people use in one country, but that perhaps does not (yet) exist in yours?

Finally, use the group discussion to learn whether there might be an opportunity to solve this problem or address this need as a team.

Use it as well to find out about the strengths and weaknesses of your team. How can the diversity of your team contribute to a different perspective and better observation of the problem?

Don't forget to take notes on your discussion!

Step 2: Vote

Do a poll vote to identify the problem or need in relation to your Global Challenge that you want to focus on.

Then articulate the outcome of this process in a "problem statement" form identifying the perceived need.

Use the following model: We need a better way to [do something] because [problem/need].

Step 3: Brainstorm

Once you have succinctly articulated the problem or need, brainstorm potential solutions to address this as a group. The emphasis is on finding multiple possible solutions rather than one solution. The diversity of your team can once again play to your advantage, if you are willing to allow all group members to express themselves, and if you are open to different perspectives.

The best way to go about this is to think about at least 2 grounded solutions (that could be implemented straight away) and two ‘blue sky’ solutions (that perhaps make use of new technologies or are a bit more original). Most solutions to problems do not start off perfect, but are developed through bouncing ideas and building upon each others' ideas.

It is therefore important to be mindful and respectful in the discussion, and to never ridicule or dismiss someone’s ideas. Sentences like "this will never work because…" or "this is a stupid idea…" are total creativity killers and will lower the mood of the discussion. Instead, try to think "this is interesting! How can we build or expand on that?"

Take notes!

Step 4: Results

The outcome of this process, which is fun, creative, and crazy in equal measures, should be that as a group you now have 2-3 potential solutions that you would like to test in the next module on idea validation.

For each potential solution note down:

• What is your solution?

• Why is your solution better?

3.8 Reflection

In this module you have been encouraged to describe in detail what you observed, without judging or jumping to conclusions. The more details you observe, the more information you have to interpret. Quite often, and naturally, human beings interpret experiences in a way that is familiar to them. The following quote by Anais Nin illustrates this:

“We don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we are.”

Making sense of situations and information quickly is an important survival skill. However, in any cross-cultural, or indeed entrepreneurial context, it is important to emphasise the need for multiple interpretations without a positive or negative label. People from different backgrounds can have a different perception of the same context or problem. It is very easy to label an alternative view as "strange." However, if you seek multiple interpretations and avoid negative evaluations, you learn to appreciate these alternative viewpoints as important opportunities for cross-cultural understanding and problem-solving.

Reflect:

• What did you find easy, difficult, odd or uncomfortable in the process of observation? Did you perhaps learn anything about yourself in the process? (For example, I got a few funny looks for being fixated on a recycling bin…)

• How can postponing judgement or interpretation affect communication in an intercultural team?

• Think back on your field work exercise and your ensuing observations. Can you now differentiate your notes between generalisations and stereotypes?

• Think back to the team assignment and the team collaboration. How can you adopt any of the behaviours in the tip sheet on ‘Postponing Judgement’?

• Are you happy to progress to the next stage of idea validation with the problem or need you have identified and the possible solutions you have brainstormed to solve the problem or address the need?

Write down your thoughts.