Summary:
- Deep listening uncovers root causes, not just surface problems: What may look like a supply issue (e.g., Nigeria’s cold chain gaps) is often a misunderstanding of demand and usage, highlighting the need to deeply understand context before acting.
- Correlation is not causation in innovation: Examples like early failed attempts at human flight and the discovery of H. pylori, show how misinterpreting patterns can lead to ineffective solutions, reinforcing the importance of disciplined inquiry.
- Humility and listening are critical for effective development and entrepreneurship: True progress comes from engaging with people’s lived experiences and questioning assumptions, rather than jumping to solutions.
I read an interesting article about Nigeria’s cold chain infrastructure last week and it got me thinking about how important humility and listening are in innovation, entrepreneurship, and development. The article was written by the CEO of Figorr, a Nigerian technology company that provides real-time monitoring solutions for temperature-sensitive products, such as vaccines, food, and pharmaceuticals. In the article, Oghenetega Iortim, Figorr’s CEO, illustrated how Nigeria doesn’t necessarily need more cold chain infrastructure. Instead it needs a deeper understanding of why the existing infrastructure goes underutilized and how to drum up enough demand to ensure it is used appropriately. He provides some recommendations.
It is the kind of article that shines a light on a problem that everyone knows exists but few are willing to truly interrogate. That’s what Iortim did. Instead of observing the problem from a surface level and concluding that Nigeria needs more cold chain warehouses, trucks, and refrigeration equipment, he engaged in deep listening. He visited many facilities in different states around the country and spoke with many owners and operators to find out the true nature of the problem. And then he listened.
Listening, a seemingly passive activity, may very well be one of the most active things a person can do. Not simply hearing what others are saying, but truly listening deeply for the things they are saying, not saying, and how the environment is responding. This skill is paramount for researchers, entrepreneurs, and the millions of people working in the global development industry. And because we all live and die by our decisions, developing a skill to deeply listen is essential for success for everyone.
Here, I define deep listening as the disciplined practice of fully understanding people’s experiences, needs, and context before acting. At the Institute, this is synonymous with our Job to Be Done Theory which helps innovators understand the causal mechanism behind purchase decisions, consumption and nonconsumption behaviors, and some cultural norms. The distinction between correlation and causation is very important and is precisely why deep listening matters.
For example, consider the history of mankind’s attempts to fly. Early researchers observed strong correlations between the ability to fly and having wings and feathers. But when humans attempted to follow what they believed were “best practices” of the most successful fliers by strapping on wings, jumping off cathedrals, and flapping hard, they failed. Although feathers and wings were correlated with flying, they did not cause flight.
Several insights emerged that helped humans better understand the phenomenon of flight. First, we learned that birds that fly tend to have hollow, lightweight bones, which help reduce weight and make flight more efficient. However, that alone does not cause flight.
The real breakthrough in human flight didn’t come from crafting better wings or using more feathers. It came from developing a deeper understanding of aerodynamics, building on early insights like Bernoulli’s principle and later, systematic experimentation by pioneers such as the Wright brothers.
Or take another example of the lucky break Drs Barry Marshall and Robin Warren got when researching the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacterium in the stomach of patients with gastritis and ulcers. The mainstream understanding at the time was that research biopsies would be overgrown with commensal flora after 48 hours and would thus be useless for any further diagnostic purpose. As such, biopsies were thrown out after two days. The lucky break came after the researchers left the cultures in the lab over the long Easter weekend. They learned that this rule did not apply to H. pylori cultures.
After their remarkable discovery, they had a hard time getting the scientific community to believe them. So, Dr. Marshall, who tested negative for H. pylori, drank a brew which contained two culture plates of the organism. After he drank it, his endoscopy showed he had severe active gastritis with polymorphonuclear infiltrate and epithelial damage. Finally, we understood gastritis.
It’s easy to laugh at those who strapped feathers to their backs and leapt in the belief that flight would follow. Or to scoff at the scientists who dismissed the evidence from Marshall and Warren. But the real lesson isn’t entirely about them. It’s also about us and how we are just as prone to confusing what we see with what actually causes it. This is why humility and deep listening matter so much.
Iortim shows us something incredibly simple but profound. When a problem looks like scarcity, the instinct is to supply more. More warehouses, more trucks, more infrastructure. But that instinct often misses the point. The real work is to understand why the scarcity exists in the first place and solve for that.
In a world where everyone is speaking, those who truly listen stand apart from the crowd.
