Bullet Holes in WWII Bomber
I recently had the privilege to listen to Bill Rogers, fellow alum of PLU (MBA class of 1982), and learn a thing or two about marketing. He told me a story which communicates the value of looking at data in a way which can provide key management decisions. “Invert your perspective” and listen to this;
During WWII, the (in)famous Robert McNamara looked at the statistics for U.S. bombers. The bombers were being inspected after they returned from mission, the bullet holes in the planes were tallied, and the places where there were the most holes is where additional armor would be added. McNamara realized that the analysis was backwards. He inverted his perspective on the problem. The planes that returned with holes in them were the planes that survived. Planes, he proposed, should actually be supplied with additional armor in the areas the returning planes didn’t have bullet holes. These were the places that the shot down planes had likely been hit and therefore didn’t make it back.
Key Takeaway: look for reasons you do not convert people to sales, rather than focusing on reinforcing existing conversions.
