Doing It With Grok
September 10th, 2009What is grok? A geek’s word, to grok is a coinage of science-fiction writer R.A. Heinlein, meaning to understand something thoroughly by having empathy with it. Urban Dictionary also defines it as “to drink” definitely not referring to that meaning of grok in this post. 
Having empathy is a willingness to learn, unflawed by judgement and accusation. In design, it is a complete acceptance and understanding of your end-user. It is a self-less approach that requires conscious effort and practice to completely put yourself in another person’s shoe and create a product that he or she will find useful and user-friendly.
Often my empathic first look almost always leads to a number of interesting ideas to explore for clients and personal friends. At times I am accused of already having figure things out…the truth is NOT! You’ve simply given me a wealth of material to work with by sharing whatever is on your mind about an idea, product, career, etc. Empathy gives me the insight to discover marketable nuggets in others capabilities, skills and ideas. The rest is about making a life choice based on comfort levels and then taking action. Having an empathic look at life and those around you is a great way to learn and discover a world and point of view apart from your own. It is the source of my relentless energy.
Here’s an insightful article from Wired on empathy about Steve Jobs and his family’s decision-making around a dishwasher back in 2005.
Do you have an empathetic mind? How has it helped your personal life, career and those around you? Next time you find an opportunity, do it with grok.
Tags: decision-making, Design, empathy, magazine, steve jobs, wired
