I really enjoyed the define stage, and I think that it will probably be my favorite stage in the process. It plays into some of my strengths — I really enjoyed the process of developing different personas. It’s so fascinating to create lives for people, especially when you think about the small, minute details that can really make or break a person. Those details might matter less when considering market segments, but it both got the creative juices flowing and reminded us to make sure that we stayed focused on the consumer.
The How Might We statements were a little more challenging than I expected them to be. It was difficult to craft a statement that was just the right scope, many of mine were either too broad or too narrow. Despite their difficulty, I understand their use — they really force you to think outside of the box and challenge what you thought about a certain industry. As a team, this exercise was useful but it also requires a bit of thick skin. I had to remind myself that if my teammates were rejecting a persona or HMW statement that I had created, it wasn’t personal.
I think that this exercise, and this course in general, has helped reframe sustainability for me. Many of my team’s ideas were more focused on community and relationship building than they were on things like cutting water use or recycling. Before this course, I thought of sustainability entirely in an environmental framework. However, what I’ve learned so far in the course is that something doesn’t necessarily have to have a direct environmental impact to be considering sustainable and that flourishing and thriving are just as important.