The Story Vacuum: Why User Research Isn’t Enough / Brian Whittaker / Ep. #252
Episode description
Imagine making the cover of Time magazine...
Okay, maybe not. Nobody gets into service design for the fame.
Actually, as we’re always saying on the show, our best work is usually the stuff nobody notices.
The spotlight stays on the CEOs. You rarely see the people in the trenches, the ones making sure the "faceless" public services we rely on actually work.
Think about it for a moment, you can thank a mailman because he’s a human being standing on your porch in the rain. But when water is coming out of your faucet, there’s nobody to thank. It’s just "the system".
That invisibility is exactly why people sometimes get hostile toward the government or big institutions. It's always "us versus them" because there’s no "them" to relate to.
So our guest for this episode, Brian Whittaker, decided to change by starting a project called Humans of Public Service (HoPS).
In this episode, we talk about the early days of the project and the weirdly difficult task of getting modest, quiet service design professionals to actually talk about themselves (on camera). He also shares hard won lessons on how he finally got the project to take off.
It’s an inspiring conversation. It shows how much the vibe changes when you put a human face on a anonymous system.
So if you’re trying to build empathy inside a big, messy organization, Brian’s blueprint really might just be what you need.
While you’re listening, try to think of one "boring" story in your own org that deserves a spotlight.
Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact!
Be well,
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to Episode 252
03:45 Family Roots in Service
05:00 Current US Service Challenges
07:30 Private to Public Transition
10:00 Modernizing Federal Tech
11:00 Passion of Public Servants
13:30 The Shift in 2020
14:15 Humans of Public Service
15:45 Growing on LinkedIn
17:00 Amplifying Unheard Voices
18:15 Shifting the Narrative
21:30 Bridging the Empathy Gap
25:45 The Power of Recognition
32:45 Institutional Design
38:30- Scaling Human Connection
44:55 The Future of Service
51:15 Advice for Change-Makers
53:30 Final Reflections
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
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