At a time when the headlines divide people into percentages, those who believe this, or say that, David Scheer, CEO of Merrill Research, offers a different way of performing and interpreting market research. Wrapped in his personal experiences – both hardships and triumphs that have shaped his approach - he delivers a clear-eyed look at what’s wrong with so much of the research results reported and relied on by decision-makers in government and business. More importantly, he explains how it can be made better by adding qualitative research methods, training in body language, and AI tools.
Michael S. Malone, Silicon Valley journalist and author, wrote: "Backbone is the ultimate manual of qualitative analysis, that opens the reader to a new way of approaching the world – in business and life. At the same time it also is an unforgettable, often harrowing, story of David Schneer’s navigation of his own life in search of the other side of experience, of wisdom and understanding. In a world where everything, including human nature, has been reduced to simple data, qualitative analysis, especially when combined with artificial intelligence, offers the way to again see others as whole, living beings. As the subtitle suggests, this book is ultimately a survival strategy for a successful and rounded company, career, and life."
The book is structured around what Schneer calls "the seven salient traits" required for a successful qualitative market researcher:
1. Curiosity
2. Preparedness
3. Extroversion
4. Synthesizing Complexity
5. Listening with Your Eyes
6. Grit
7. Being Venturous
Within that structure, though, he weaves both his own story and examples from his decades of work in market research. Andy Cunningham, CEO of Cunningham Collective and author of Get to Aha! calls it, "The engaging and masterfully told story of how [David Schneer] came to apply his own salient traits to a profession bent on figuring out what people think, need, want, and like: market research. His secret sauce is his own resilience, determination, curiosity, and empathy. With these tools of the trade he shows us that qualitative research combined with a bit of AI can reveal the very core of the human condition to help us better understand each other and the world around us."
The book is designed in a large format with extra wide margins that are sprinkled with sidenotes, including questions to ponder, inviting the reader to add notes and ideas of their own. Book designer Tom Collins, of MasterBookBuilders.com, part of the indie publishing team that helped with the publication, explained that "David told us his book is intended to inspire readers as well as inform them – to leave his market research profession better than he found it – so we designed it to encourage readers to interact with it as they read."
On its release, BACKBONE achieved #1 rankings on Amazon across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia marketplaces. BACKBONE: Surviving the Road Less Quantified – Toward a Deeper Understanding of Qualitative Research is available on Amazon.com and other online booksellers.
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