The Grey Sweatshirt: Part 1


My favorite story from the last two conferences came from a cocktail party conversation I was having with a senior level executive of a large, traditional research firm. He said "I feel like I am a Walmart buyer at a Couture fashion show. My clients buy grey sweatshirts and are happy with them."


Going to as many conferences as I do, I tend to forget that while all of the talk is on the cutting edge, most of the research being conducted is traditional, simple, expensive and slow.


The good news is that I am seeing incremental improvement that at least acknowledges the participant experience and begins to take advantage of technology. As made famous in the classic move What About Bob, "Baby steps to the car..."


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