Remember being in grade school, studying math or science, and you’d hear a classmate say, “When am I ever going to use this in real life?” Little did you know the basics of equations show up everywhere. Most of the time, it’s a pretty easy concept: Y=aX+b. But then again, taking into account multiple variables can really be tricky.
We’re conducting marketing simulations right now, and we make decisions about price, costs, and time management over 12 quarters. We’re currently in practice mode, so the first few times I ran the simulation, I just started changing things to see what would happen. A little discount here, modify spending there, and voila! I lost a ton of money…
When I really started playing, actually making sound business decisions, there were reactions that I hadn’t expected. For example, I had to pick how much time my sales team would focus on large vs. small customers. If I change the numbers one direction, one group wasn’t happy, but if I changed them the other direction, then both groups weren’t happy. What? Is one group always going to be dissatisfied?
Then I realized that this one number may be impacted by another decision I make in the simulation…as all the numbers are affected by each other. There’s a reason they want you to learn about multivariate regression: we have a huge number of variables that affect every business decision.
What gets confusing, however, is when you are the variable. A whole multitude of things could be happening around you, and the effects of those decisions begin to affect you. An obvious example: the economy tanks, your company loses money, layoffs are required, and you lose your job. You could have had the best job performance as an individual, but you may be subject to a lot of other variables outside of your control.
While my simulation may have a ton of background algorithms running to project revenue, we don’t have that in real life. We have to think about variables ourselves, and then do our best to prepare for results over which we have no control.
Yep, we must give up a little bit of that control because it isn’t in our hands. Then think of what else you can spend time doing when it is in your control.
Have you experienced times when if feels like there are just too many things affecting one result? What is an instance when you felt like the variable?
Photo credit.
Hi Emily,
As a consultant in the professional services arena, YOU ARE THE VARIABLE that provides the greatest area of differentiation. It’s often the one thing you can control and separates out commoditized packages of goods and services from those who can really customize an experience. As an executive coach and as one who has trained others, I find that those who are dependent on one tool or framework run out of steam sooner or later, vs. those who are able to modify themselves as the variable that impacts customer experience.
From a decision making standpoint, there is now a great deal of literature on (“How we decide” is a good example) on the cognitive processes that accompany customer response to having too many choices and variables.
Funny thing is that I wrote a post in September,
Clear customer communication: Life lessons from your math teacher (http://www.bestcustomerconnection.com/?p=354), that uses the same image. Sometimes visual images are how we quickly identify, sort and decide among many choices – one of the reasons adverts and marketing puts so much focus on achieving distinctive brand images and labels.
Marc
Marc, thanks for leaving your comment! Sorting is so important, I think that’s why I keep bringing colored pens with me to class. If I couldn’t use colors for graphs or organizing notes, I would have a tough time sorting the information. Speaking of too many choices, I do get these moments when I think, “Why do I have to choose? I want to do everything!” Maybe we can’t do everything at the same time, but I think if I remember that I can plan ahead, I can do a lot. Thanks Marc!
This is why you hear some people say something along the lines of: “Worry about the things you can control,” which, unfortunately, isn’t always much. That’s also why, if I feel as if someone else is getting in my way, I may say, “I don’t need anyone else holding me back. I get in my own way enough as it is!”
And you hear some people say that if you do the right things, everything else will take care of itself and fall into place, but sadly, that’s not always true. But still, all I can do is do my best to give myself the best opportunities. Everything else is out of my hands.
Jake, it is so true! Being in control just isn’t possible, and it’s hard to tell yourself to not worry about things outside of your control. I do say it’s important to not worry, but I do think it’s stupid if you don’t make yourself aware of obstacles or challenges that might be ahead of you. Information is key to being able to make good decisions. I like your philosophy!
I agree with you- as a film major that went into PR I didn’t expect math to be a part of my work and I quickly learned how much “metrics” become a part of your job.
Patrick, metrics are huge! It’s funny learning about marketing and how important numbers are in the whole process, yet people imagine marketers to be super creative people who don’t have time for numbers. It’s crazy what you learn when you face something. Thanks!
Recently, the ‘Hottie and the Nottie’ star was spotted in a blue and white sundress, blue cardigan, blue heels and blue handbag.