What do retail, hot dog eating contests and the end of the world have in common?
A lot, apparently. Well, at least to Stephen Dubner, journalist and co-author of the Freakonomics series of books.
Dubner shared several anecdotes supporting the new need to challenge the norm during his keynote presentation at the SAP Retail Forum in New York City, which hosted nearly 400 retailers, SAP executives and technology partners.
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While Dubner’s tales of consulting businesses, supporting his son who was fearing the apocalypse and interviewing Nathan’s hot dog eating champ Takeru Kobayashi were undoubtedly humorous and enlightening for an early-morning session, it was vital for me to get some key takeaways relevant to the retail community.
One message that hit home is: The hardest words for us to say today is “I don’t know."
However, Dubner explained that finding the answers to our questions and business challenges is actually not that difficult. All you have to do is:
- Indicate what you know;
- Realize what you don’t know; and
- Experiment.
Seems pretty easy, right? Actually, you’d be surprised how many businesses, especially retailers, fear the experimentation process. Dubner expanded on this by sharing his experience working with a retailer’s marketing team who refused to conduct an experiment to determine the effectiveness of print circulars.
The key takeaway here is: Don’t be afraid of the process! Failure is an inevitable part of addressing a challenge/answering a question.
It also is important to think beyond the boundaries of the question you’re trying to answer or the problem you’re trying to solve. For example, Kobayashi experimented with different ways to eat a hot dog to determine which method was most efficient. He learned that eating a hot dog without a bun, then dipping the bun in water made the process faster and more seamless.
So how can we legitimately connect hot dog eating contests to retail operations? Simple:
- Redefine the problem you’re trying to solve (just like how Kobayashi redefined the hot dog eating experience).
- Refuse to accept a barrier that is posed by others based on past expectations.
I find these points especially important as retailers continue to strive to keep pace with customer preferences and expectations. To put it bluntly, customers are a moving target! They’re desires, wants and needs are constantly changing. So those "expectations” are constantly changing. That’s why it’s more important than ever to test, learn and not be afraid of the failure that is inevitable!
Has your organization taken this approach to change and innovation? Share your stories in the comments section below!
