After more than three decades in marketing research, on both the supplier and client side, I have concluded that my profession is greatly misunderstood. Its ability to discover truth is imperfect, and the task inherent in predicating consumer behavior is formidable, yet it is often thought of as a “simple” solution. How did this happen? Many users think that marketing ...

A common misconception about evolution is that “the fittest survive.” In reality, the most adaptable do. Life forms unable to adapt to changing environmental requirements for survival don’t pass their genes onto successive generations. Instead of branching into new life forms, they get pruned. Just as living organisms need to adapt to change in order to produce future generations, organizations ...