The Search for Meaning, Step 1 - Stop Counting

So much of modern marketing strategy takes the white tower, arm’s length, and quantifiable approach to strategy. Strategy can’t be so sanitized and kept so distant from what’s actually happening in the market. Being so reliant on quantitative models misses the point.

As Friedrich Nietzsche said, “There are no facts, only interpretations.” So many companies spend a great deal of time counting everything, but seeing the significance of nothing.

When you count things, you first have to define them in measurable ways, letting the system manipulate the figures by narrowing the definition. The reality is that the more you count, the less you understand. I often find that, when asked by a client to solve a particular problem, the solution becomes clear after spending time in the field listening to people who use the product.

I might get the same result by looking at internal reports and Excel spreadsheets, but it would take a lot longer. I would also miss the opportunity to discover the unexpected, become exposed to new ideas, or learn how the customers’ expectations of the product could lead to real innovation.

Meaning is best constructed as a story. As Joan Didion says, “We tell each other stories in order to live.” Even numbers have to be integrated into a story in order to be made meaningful.

Hence, it makes sense that to understand our customers we have to seek out the stories they tell. It still comes down to using common sense and intuition. Strategy has to be based on leadership, enthusiasm, or personal engagement. There’s no way around it.