When I think of amazement I also think of George Boole and how we apply our subjective logic to expectations. In a neutral case we start off believing that there is a 50/50 chance that two outcomes can happen. If we have never seen the sun rise, and landed on planet earth we would ascribe a 50/50 chance to the sun rising tomorrow. After repeatedly seeing the sun rise we forget about the possibility that the sun may not rise tomorrow. Repeatedly being exposed to one outcome gives us a belief in near certainty. We forget about all the options and so, we aren't amazed by the fact that the sun does rise again. Children don't suffer from this bias of deeply rooted expectation. They have not become blinded by repeated exposure to "the way gravity works." Dropping a spoon is amazing! Dropping it again is still amazing! Watching mom get upset at picking up the spoon every 3 seconds, marvelously amazing!
Amazement however is not written into the corporate vision of many companies. We associate this pursuit with the creative industries like Disney and Pixar, who function as imagination factories. But what about the solid performers that serve to fill so much of our life with the mundane? What role can mystery and surprise play for the Unilevers and Proctor & Gamble's of the world? Why do they ignore an emotion that so captivates us? That shakes us up so deeply and prompts immediate curiosity and engagement? There is a lot of lip service to "you'll be amazed at how clean your kitchen surfaces are," but what about a real emotional shift in the experience?
Creating this magical feeling in consumers is not an accident. It requires a very special sense and corporate culture. "Good" is simply not good enough if your objective is to amaze. Cirque du Soleil has it written into their mission statement. A core value is "to extend the limits of the possible." Apple recruits the best and brightest on their ambition to make a dent in the universe. You have to believe that magic is possible if you want to make it.
Amazement is by its very nature extra-ordinary. "Business as usual" is the antithesis of amazement, wonder, awe. For a manager amazement is unnerving, because by it's very nature, the pursuit of amazement will take you to an unpredictable place. By letting go of firmly held beliefs of "how things are done" you don't make many friends in the predictable, rational world of quarterly reporting. Perhaps the route back to amazement can be understand through good old Mr. Boole and the sense of wonder unlocked by a child like beginner's mind. To pursue the beginner's mind where we can see a 50/50 world of possibilities, untainted by "the way we always do this." In my experience you don't reach this state of awareness by doing simply rational activities like "blue sky thinking" or "imagine the business burnt down and you could start from scratch." These activities are useful but don't shift the emotional space in which the employees expectations reside. You have to shake them out emotionally and for this there are few tools as useful as analogous immersion.
Three years ago I did a project with the maternity unit at a large New York hospital. As you can expect the nurses were very empathetic to the experience of their patients, this being one of the most wondrous and beautiful moments in any person's life. The Boolean trap however meant that the nurses became jaded and disconnected from the patient's view. The sense of amazement and awe was gone and the service quality suffered accordingly. We ran a workshop where we took the nurses through 5 ananlogous activities, to simulate the emotional state of a patient and bring about empathy for the real emotions at play. One of my favourites was a sensory conflict activity. The nurses had to read a short story while listening to a James Bond audio book. They were told that there would be a multiple choice test afterwards. The had all the time they needed to read through the story. It was after all difficult to pay attention with the distracting noise of the audiobook in their headphones. Once everyone had read the story, they received the test, based as you would expect on the James Bond audiobook. Why? Because this simulated exactly how nurses were verbally giving instructions, whilst patients had to read through admin papers and fill out forms. The standard quote: "I don't understand why the patients don't 'get it,' I told them a hundred times." Once the nurses were confronted by their own sensory overload, they were at first stunned, then amazed at how much impact such a small detail can have. The experience brought real amazement, but what is even more powerful is the level of engagement and creativity the nurses then applied in redesigning the patient experience. By shaking them up emotionally, through an analogous, yet relevant experience the sense of mystery and awe could return. They were brought back to the beginners mind and could view expectations and outcomes in fresh ways. Amazement as a design tool.
What are the analogous experiences you and your team can undertake to bring back the sense of awe in what you do? How can empathy unlock creativity in things that you have become blind to? Can you see the experience again for the first time? Can you find delight by dropping a spoon? Let go of expectation and take a road to the destination you can't see.
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