According to Wikipedia…
George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he is known for the George Foreman Grill.
Foreman has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Foreman as the eighth-greatest heavyweight of all time. In 2002, he was named one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring. The Ring ranked him as the ninth-greatest puncher of all time. He was a ringside analyst for HBO's boxing coverage for 12 years until 2004. Outside boxing, he is a successful entrepreneur and known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the grill for $138 million.
Fascinating right? I’d know his face anywhere, but I was surprised to see him pop up as the “speaker of the verse” on my Bible app that I start each day with listening and reading to get all my thoughts gathered in the right direction before heading into the office. Yes, I still go into an office where there are walls and people. I have to say I love it. But this is a story for another day.
The message from “Big George” was about building your life on a solid foundation. He spoke of years of ups and downs - as he said his life was in sand and on sand… instead of solid rock. When he finally decided to stand on the solid rock…his life changed.
Now what does this have to do with research you ask???
Many times, we find clients who decide to alter/change/modify and make companywide decisions [before] ever putting the idea to the test. Research is an afterthought instead of the initial thought. Sometimes this method bodes well and sometimes it does not. Do you research a car before buying it? Do you research a house before purchasing it? Did George Foreman research his opponents before getting in the ring or after? It seems like before we make big and even small purchases/decisions we are all looking at reviews and asking questions and comparing products and prices. So, basically, we are “doing our research.” I just spent $250 on a Pickleball paddle, and you can bet I held it and played with it before diving in to purchase a $250 toy.
“Research allows us to find out if we are standing on solid ground with our proposed changes, or if we are sinking or sliding in the sand”
It seems to me the sand here represents the decisions we make without doing the research first. The rock represents the solid plan we can make with confidence if we do the research first before making decisions that affect our company/business or our family. The research allows us to find out if we are standing on solid ground with our proposed changes, or if we are sinking or sliding in the sand.
We have a saying in Marketing Research “the numbers don’t lie.” The numbers allow us to tell the story for our clients no matter what side the story presents.
Is it a good idea to change something?
Is it a kind of good idea to change/modify something?
Is it a terrible idea to change/modify something?
All these “somethings” affect customers and employees alike. It is much easier to have the solid foundation of the data to back up any and all changes. It is harder to try to make the story fit when decisions have been made and then the data collection reveals a different tale. The sand becomes sticky and hard to shake or it convolutes the full story the real numbers are trying to tell.
I am certain George Foreman researched and gathered all the data possible BEFORE he went into the ring with his opponent. If he decided to wait until after the match was decided, he might actually wish to sink deeply into real sand to avoid the backlash.
The Knockout Punch: Let’s all build our decisions on the solid rock like George Foreman and leave the sand to the amateurs.
