What Green Eggs and Ham and UX Research Have in Common

Sam-I-Am’s quest in Green Eggs and Ham is identical to our quest as UX researchers. 

Has it been a few years since you read the book Green Eggs and Ham? Perhaps you’ve never had the pleasure? If you’d like a refresher, you can search for the full text online or watch a video rendition here.

Basically, the book is about Sam-I-Am urging an unnamed man to eat green eggs and ham. The book, in lyrical Dr. Seuss fashion, shows this man rejecting green eggs and ham in every possible scenario - until the end, when he tries them and it turns out that, to his great surprise, he likes them.

As a caretaker of a small child, I concluded this book was about encouraging children to eat broccoli, or Brussels sprouts, or any other often-rejected food.

Recently I came up with a different interpretation. In Sam-I-Am’s place, let’s put a researcher at a tech company, and make the unnamed man a non-research stakeholder. 

Let’s begin with how Sam-I-Am teaches us not to take resistance personally.

Don’t take resistance personally

That Sam-I-Am, that Sam-I-Am. I do not like that Sam-I-Am!

The story begins with the unnamed man declaring his dislike for Sam-I-Am. Why does he dislike Sam-I-Am? Because Sam-I-Am is asking him a lot of questions.

Do you like green eggs and ham? 

I do not like them, Sam-I-Am. 

I do not like green eggs and ham.

Sam-I-Am is a researcher. He asks questions. In particular, he focuses on questions about the consumption of green eggs and ham. Green eggs and ham, my friends, are the research insights that we offer to our organization.

Our unnamed-man-aka-stakeholder does make an initial declaration of personal dislike. What becomes clear as the book progresses is that the dislike is not, in fact, personal. The stakeholder dislikes the message, not Sam-I-Am himself. 

As UX researchers, we are asking people to consider a point of view they haven’t considered before. We are questioning the way they work and how they make decisions. In essence, we are asking people to change. Change is hard, and resistance is common. But it is rarely personal.

Just like a UX researcher in a low-maturity company, Sam-I-Am disregards any personal affront and continues his persistent, creative, and dare I say cheerful approach to advocacy. That’s up next.

Embrace a persistent, creative approach to advocacy

Would you eat them in a box? 

Would you eat them with a fox? 

Not in a box. Not with a fox. 

Not in a house. Not with a mouse. 

I would not eat them here or there. 

I would not eat them anywhere. 

I would not eat green eggs and ham. 

I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.

Our unknown man, just like some of our stakeholders, doesn’t know exactly why he’s refusing to eat green eggs and ham. He hasn’t even tried them, after all. As the book continues, it almost seems like he refuses out of habit. 

How does Sam-I-Am deal with this? Patiently, and persistently, He tries, scenario after scenario, to find one that will appeal to his stakeholder. He doesn’t become angry or complain to other green-eggs-and-ham advocates that this job is a real drag. He just continues to try.

In UX research, it can take a long time for research insights to land with our stakeholders. Whether in a box, or with a fox, or in a house, or with a mouse, we must continue to engage until we find the magical formula. 

You do not like them. So you say. 

Try them! Try them! And you may. 

Try them and you may, I say. 

Sam! If you let me be, I will try them. 

You will see.

The turning point in the book arrives. After failing in a multitude of scenarios, Sam-I-Am takes a gamble: He moves from scenario-based persuasion to direct confrontation. We don’t know exactly why he chose this moment. But his gamble pays off.

In UX research, we’ve all been there: We change our approach and suddenly find we’ve reached a breakthrough. Maybe we presented our research in a different format. Maybe we let our stakeholders sit in on a pivotal user interview. Whatever it is, we get what we’ve been seeking: conversion to the researcher’s mindset.

Can you imagine if Sam-I-Am had given up? He persisted, and succeeded. But his challenge isn’t over. Now, he must harness (and manage) the enthusiasm he has unleashed. 

Harness (and manage) enthusiasm

Say! I like green eggs and ham! 

I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am!...

And I would eat them in a boat. 

And I would eat them with a goat... 

And in a car. And in a tree. 

They are so good, so good, you see!...

And I will eat them here and there. 

Say! I will eat them anywhere! 

I do so like green eggs and ham! 

Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am.

Sam-I-Am’s stakeholder has experience a 180 degree attitude change and is suddenly enthusiastic about green eggs and ham. Extraordinarily so, in fact.

This is the moment that Sam-I-Am-the-researcher must tread carefully. The formerly skeptical stakeholder-turned-enthusiast can be a blessing, but they can also be a curse. 

They might want to eat green eggs and ham for every meal, even meals that would be better enjoyed vegan. They could get impatient with the cook and start improvising recipes for green eggs and ham, and find out it doesn’t produce the same effect. Worse, they may share their mediocre recipes with others, and these new stakeholders may wonder what the fuss was all about. 

The book doesn’t go into Sam-I-Am’s enthusiasm management strategies, so I might be stretching the interpretation a bit. However, since the book leaves the impression of a happy ending, let’s assume Sam-I-Am - like UX researchers - has a plan for creating a playbook for how, when, and where to enjoy green eggs and ham to their fullest extent.

The next time you’re facing a difficult situation in your research job, I encourage you to draw inspiration from Sam-I-Am’s approach: Don’t take resistance personally, embrace a creative, persistence approach to advocacy, and harness and manage stakeholder enthusiasm once you have them on your side. 

After all, we all know that green eggs and ham are delicious - try them!