Curious About…Collective Suspension of Disbelief.
(From my Chinese Column, as usual, presented in its original Mandarin and English.)
Years ago I read an article in a magazine about flying. I have no idea why as I am not remotely interested at all in aviation, but this piece really spoke to me. In it, a pilot was interviewed and asked how an airplane stayed in the air. His answer was pretty shocking. “The reason why an airplane stays in the sky has absolutely nothing at all to do with mechanics, hydraulics or engineering,” he said, “the reason an airplane stays in the sky is because everyone flying in it believes that it can. Flying is merely the collective suspension of disbelief.” He went on: “The second someone sitting in the plane, usually in Business Class, questions: ‘How come this thing is up here?’ it crashes to the ground.”
I have thought long and hard about that story and have quoted it often. The pilot is right on a metaphorical level, and this provides a powerful backbone for the work that my colleagues and I do.
I am in Australia right now on a business trip, and am always amazed by the overwhelming sentiment in the air down here - call it a uniquely Antipodean mindset - but Australians and New Zealanders are so…incredibly optimistic. They clearly believe in their ability to create great futures for their countries, and are collectively suspending any disbelief that that future will not be better, more vibrant, better for them all, and that they will transcend any threat of recession and move forward and onward. It is very inspiring and empowering to be around people like this. To use my pilot’s metaphor, nobody in Business Class is sitting thinking “How come this thing is up here?” and nobody is attempting anything other than ebullient, vibrant optimism.
Much of what IDEO does requires mental shifts like this. We are asked by our clients to help them conceive bold new futures for them and to help bring those futures to life. We are, without a doubt, in the Leap-of-Faith business. There is often trepidation in our clients’ minds and hearts when we start working together – we can often see the thoughts rising from their heads in our initial conversations - “These people are expensive…Am I going to get value for my money…Are they for real…Are we going to get what was promised…Will my boss think I’m nuts…Will I get fired if this fails…” The list goes on and on, and I don’t blame them at all for feeling this way. But what we get them to very quickly do is move past their fear, to suspend their disbelief, and to flip to the optimistic and generative aspects of themselves, to start building towards a common goal - nothing alleviates fear like realizing that you are not in it alone, and that your teammates are going to support you on your journey.
As the theme of this piece is flying, let me end with a story about an aviation client. Air New Zealand came to us a few years ago with the bold goal of “transforming long-haul travel,” to rethink the entire experience - from the cabin layout and equipment (such as the seating in economy and business class) to the in-flight service and entertainment. We also took a look at the customer experience inside and beyond the terminal.
关于集体抛弃怀疑的好奇心
多年前，我读了杂志上的一篇关于飞行的文章。虽然我对飞行没有半点兴趣，可不知怎的，这篇文章却很吸引我。文章里一位飞行员在接受采访时被问道说，为什么飞机可以维持在空中前行。飞行员的回答很是令人震惊。“飞机之所以可以维持在空中前行，这和力学、水力学或工程学完全没有关系，”他说道，“关键是机上的每一位乘客相信它可以做到。所有人都抛开疑虑，这就是飞行的全部。”他接着说：“一旦坐在飞机上的某个人，通常是商务舱的乘客，怀疑地问，‘这个玩意儿是怎么飞上来的？’那么飞机肯定会坠落失事。”
这个故事我仔细想了很久，而且常常拿它作为例子引用。飞行员打的这个比方是对的，而这恰恰也为我和我的同事所做的工作提供了有力支持。
目前我正在澳大利亚出差，这里人们的那种极富感染力的情绪无时不令我折服，这就是澳新人特有的心态吧，不过澳大利亚及新西兰人民的乐观精神真是叫人难以置信。他们坚信自己有能力为祖国创造美好的未来，所有人都抛开了一切怀疑，坚定地认为未来只会变得越来越好，越来越有生机，每个人的未来都是如此，他们将会战胜任何萧条，勇往无前。和这样的人们在一起，真是无比地鼓舞人心，令人意气风发。用那位飞行员的比喻来讲，就是坐在商务舱的乘客中，没有人会去想“这玩意儿是怎么飞上来的？”，每个人有的只是洋溢着热情与乐观的精神面貌。
IDEO的大部分工作同样要求这种观念的转变。因为很多时候，客户会让我们帮助大胆构想新的未来并付诸实现。毫无疑问，我们所处的行业离不开“信念的飞跃”。当然一开始合作的时候，客户难免流露出种种不安，这在我们初步沟通的过程中往往显露无疑。“这些人太贵了……我能不能值回票价……他们是说真的吗……结果是不是能像承诺的那样……老板不会认为我是怪胎吧……要是失败了会不会解雇我……”等等，当然他们有这样的感觉并没有错。而我们的任务就是让他们很快将担忧抛在脑后，停止怀疑，开始用乐观的态度和更有成效的方式来看待自己，朝着一个共同的目标努力。没什么好担心的，因为你会发现自己不是一个人，队友们会一路支持你。
鉴于我开篇讲的是飞行，那结束时也分享个航空客户的故事吧。几年前，新西兰航空公司带着“革新长途飞行体验”这个雄伟的目标找到我们，希望我们帮助重新思考和打造从客舱布局及设备（如：经济舱和商务舱的座位排列）到机上服务和娱乐的整体体验。此外，我们还将视角延伸到了航站楼内外的顾客体验之中。
我们利用以人为本的设计方法，很快确立了这样一个认识，即本土航空公司提供的任何服务，都应该体现本国的文化特色。在北岛和南岛进行的一个月的调研活动中，团队深深地为新西兰式的顾客服务所叹服：慷慨、谦逊、彻头彻尾的民主，最重要的是他们的乐观精神，还有对新创意的包容态度。
在这些调研和洞察的基础上，我们开展了一系列协作工作坊，制作实体尺寸的座位模型，并用视频模拟了全新的服务场景和机会点。在设计工作坊上，我们探索了一些非常疯狂的座位设置的场景，从双层卧铺到旋转座椅，并最终选定了“空中睡椅”这个创意，就是将经济舱并排的三个座位展开放平，形成一个长长的、类似于沙发的结构。当然，要具体落实设计，还离不开技术上的信念飞跃、双方精神上的支持，以及所有人义无反顾推出这个创意的决心。
两年后，“空中睡椅”成功面世，市场反响热烈，受到了包括好莱坞巨星格温妮丝·帕特洛这位常旅客在内的众多粉丝的青睐，获奖不计其数。但最为重要的是，它让新西兰航空完成了从一家小公司到行业领袖的华丽转身，不仅让公司，而且让整个国家找到了“勇敢的创新者”这一全新的自我定位。合作取得了傲人的成绩，我们同样十分自豪，但更令我们自豪的是我们能够依赖信念上的飞跃，实现我们所有人的共同目标。
因此对于我来说，这是一个圆满的结局：终于我有了一个真实的飞行故事，可以用来说明集体抛弃怀疑的巨大作用。
Recent comments