Throughout my career as a sociologist, I have come to the conclusion that people find sociologists annoying on a deeply personal level. Anthropologists have great stories about travelling to exotic locations. People seem to really appreciate psychology because they think it helps them to better understand why people do the things they do. Historians, while might be boring with their details and minutiae of past events, at least have something to help carry a conversation at a party. Perhaps the only other truly annoying academic profession are philosophers, but they may spend more time talking to themselves than other people.

What makes sociologists annoying, in my opinion as a sociologist, is that we think critically all the time about everything. It is not just how we are trained; it is how we are wired. You could show a sociologist a picture of puppies playing in a field, and the sociologist would talk about the perils of puppy mills. You could assure the sociologist that these are from a rescue, and the sociologist would talk about there is a lack of oversight and regulation of these organizations and the emotional manipulation of Sarah McLachlan commercials. You could assure the sociologist that this in fact is a wonderful animal rescue, and the sociologist will talk about how veterinary services in the United States cost more than in other parts of the world, and then launch into a discussion of the lack of healthcare overall. We are exhausting. But the critical thinking element is nevertheless important, because through critical thinking and critical analysis, progress and improvements can be made.

The person who joins me today on Experience by Design is neither a sociologist nor annoying, but is a critical thinker and thought leader in his field. Andrew Carothers has had a long career in customer experience, and has some perspectives to share about its past, present, and future. In his opinion, customer experience is in its teenage years, a kind of awkward adolescence where it is trying to find its identity. In finding its way, it also has to find ways to define its importance and relevance to organizational success and culture.

We talk about the need for CX to go beyond the metrics it has, but also find other metrics that matter. Andrew discusses the need to put CX more centrally into strategy. We also explore the implications of artificial intelligence for customer experience as a feature and a profession. Andrew emphasizes that good enough is often good enough, especially if that is all that customers want. Finally, we explore how keeping customers is easier than getting customers, and that CX can provide the path to do so, but only if it continues to grow up.

Andrew Carothers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-carothers/

One of the things that I have come to thoroughly enjoy as a type of past time is the learning about the history of World War II in the Pacific theater. A book that I have been listening to recently is “Japanese Destroyer Captain” by Captain Tameichi Hara. It is amazing listening to give a version of things from the perspective of a Japanese naval commander who went through the Imperial Japanese Naval college at Etajima and then saw action across the war. Getting a sense of what that experience was like from his point of view very much helps to get a greater overall understanding of the war because after all, history is about perspective.

I felt the same way about the book “D-Day through German Eyes.” Perspective switching is a vital skill and ability because it allows us to get outside of our own world view and take the position of others.

My guest today on Experience by Design knows all about telling stories, and also all about the navy. Christian Lachel started his career in the US Navy in special warfare and special forces. But an injury curtailed that career and led him to attend the ArtCenter College of Design, where he also taught. His background in design, storytelling, and media and history eventually found him at the company BRC Imagination Arts, where he is now Chief Creative Officer.

Christian has been involved in creating 5 USA Pavilion Exhibits at World Expos, which requires crafting what story to tell about the United States. This includes the USA Pavilion currently in Osaka, Japan. He also has worked with the Henry Ford Museum and the River Rouge plant, which if you know labor history has special meaning regarding the rise of unions and collective bargaining.

We talk about how storytelling is about bringing together perspectives and capturing different points of view. He emphasizes the importance of deep listening and research with all stakeholders to make sure their voices are included. We also discuss how that story has to be distilled in a way that audiences will be entertained and engaged. Christian is focused on what we can create collectively as a community and world when we work together toward a common goal, and hope that this is what is communicated through his work. The importance and power of the experiences he helps to create is to provide that shared meaning which resonates individually and brings people together collectively.

Christian Lachel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianlachel/

BRC Imagination Arts: https://www.brcweb.com/

USA Pavilion Osaka 2025: https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/official-participant/united-states-of-america/

Being a sociologist means that there often are only so many opportunities to “do sociology” in a way that has impact. It is not that sociology doesn’t have value and practical applications. On the contrary, I would consider it one of the most useful and practical disciplines. But it can be hard to combine the opportunity to do practical application while working in an academic environment. I am very lucky that I found one such place to work.

My guest today on Experience by Design had similar fortune. Dr. Ashley Guajardo first fancied a job as a marine biologist due to a love of dolphins. But a fear of the ocean and aversion to being in the water curtailed that path. Lucky for us, she found sociology instead. While at Brunel University she studied with a professor who worked at Ubisoft as a user researcher. This, along with her own love of video games, led to a research interest and career in the design of video games. As well as the current President of the Digital Games Research Association. Additionally she was recently inducted as a Higher Education Videogame Alliance Fellow. Finally, she has recently left the University of Utah and will be starting at New York University as a professor and joining the Games Center faculty and staff.

We cover a lot of ground around applied sociology and public scholarship, since along with her academic work, she also is a livestreamer on Twitch and content creator through her new effort “The Research Left Behind Podcast.” We cover how there can be fun in frustration and forming positive social relationships through gaming. We talk about how gender is portrayed in and how genders approach gaming. We talk about the perils of livestreaming as a woman, and what female content creators say about how they are perceived and targeted by viewers. Finally we talk about how academics need to make their content more accessible to broader audiences and disseminate our findings though alternate formats.

Dr. Ashley Guajardo Webpage: https://amlbrown.com/

Ashley Guajardo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-ashley/

The Research Left Behind Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@TheResearchLeftBehind

Professor_Ashley on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/professor_ashley