Set Your Sights on Doing Even Better

What was your biggest missed opportunity for retailing profitability ever?
     That question came to my mind while reading an article in The Atlantic about a project in which 105 accomplished African-Americans responded to the question, “What is the most racist thing that has ever happened to you?”
     The most common answer was a variation of, “Probably something I don’t know ever happened. An opportunity not available to me because the racism kept it hidden.” Yale professor Elizabeth Alexander said, “The most racist thing that ever happened to me would likely be a continual underestimation of my intellectual ability and capacity, and the real insidious aspect of that kind of racism is that we don't know half the time when people are underestimating us.”
     From the perspective of cognitive psychology, I’d add to Prof. Alexander’s insight the reality that at least half the time, those doing the underestimating also aren’t aware of the distortion in their thinking. Much prejudice is intentional, but much of it results from a failure of intention. The intention to probe beyond first impressions.
     Like those who shop with us, we are cognitive misers. We resist putting our brains to work beyond what’s necessary for a satisfactory solution. Research at University of Cincinnati highlighted how often we make interpersonal, purchase, and business decisions based solely on whatever information is easily available. Then, to make ourselves cognitively comfortable, we’ll become more certain of our conclusions after we’ve made them, looking for confirming evidence.
     That’s a description of prejudice.
     Suppose my purchase decision was a ticket at a horse track betting window. In a classic consumer behavior study at a race track, researchers found that after somebody bet on a horse, they became even more confident the horse would win.
     To say that we resist putting out the extra effort is not to say that we won’t do it. We need to be motivated, such as by a driving desire for profitability. When participants in the University of Cincinnati studies were reminded of the potential value of missing information, their cognitive biases declined.
     Avoid prejudice against yourself. Resolve never to accept your greatest success up until now as the upper limit of your possibilities. You may never know your biggest missed opportunity for retailing profitability. Still, you can minimize the number and scope of any oversights by probing beyond the obvious. Set your sights on doing even better.

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