Voices: the CMB Blog

One of the wonders of modern medicine is the mountain of information available on every conceivable platform. Regardless of the condition, there are sure to be numerous sources dedicated to providing advice: chat-rooms, blogs, magazines and so on; it can be overwhelming. But, there’s one “condition” the human race has been collecting data and offering recommendations (and opinions) on since the beginning of time—I’m speaking, of course, about pregnancy.Even if you or your partner have never been, and never plan to be pregnant, you can probably rattle off a few items that moms-to-be should avoid: alcohol, coffee, cheese, fish … the list goes on. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, economist, mother, and author of Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong-and What You Really Need to Know, Emily Oster takes a deeper look at the stats in “Take Back Your Pregnancy.” Dr. Oster takes issue with the standard recommendations about pregnancy, arguing: “The key to good decision making is evaluating the available information—the data—and combining it with your own estimates of pluses and minuses.”

As a market researcher, I was drawn to Emily’s argument—a reminder to be thoughtful as we interpret information, both in our personal lives and our professional ones. This is especially important for those of us who spend our days understanding and decoding data. As a 27 year old woman, who hopes to become a mother in the next ten years or so, I was glad to hear there is good evidence I won’t need to go nine months without coffee.

A few myth-busting data points:

O  Sample Bias: avoiding wine while pregnant (and other alcohol, too): When reviewing data comparing mothers who consume alcohol during pregnancy vs. those who abstain, it’s important to understand social norms and physician guidelines. In the U.S., drinking is strongly discouraged during pregnancy. Therefore, U.S. mothers who drink during pregnancy (vs. those who do not) tend to exhibit other behavioral and attitudinal differences. Those who tended to drink are more likely to be “rule breakers” and, in the study Emily cited, were significantly more likely to have used cocaine. Emily cites another study of Australian women, where drinkers and non-drinkers were more similar, the results of which show that light drinking (2-6 drinks a week) is fine.

O  Correlation ≠ causation: avoid coffee while pregnant: Fueled by her love of coffee, Emily was determined to understand the data behind the claim that coffee drinking is related to a higher rate of miscarriages. Digging into the data, Emily concluded, “we may well be mistaking a correlation for an underlying cause. The women who drink less coffee have fewer problems not because they limit their caffeine intake but because they tend to suffer from nausea, which inhibits coffee drinking.”

Emily also tackled soft cheese, deli meats, and weight gain during pregnancy; with the amount of research done on pregnancy, there’s no doubt Dr. Oster will have plenty for a second edition. Regardless of what you set out to research, be it brand health or your own, it’s important to make sure you understand the recommendations within the context of the findings and how the research is conducted.

Jeannine is a Project Manager at CMB. She loves to read, travel, and takes her coffee black, no guilt.

Happiness means something a bit different to each of us. To Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, happiness means working for a company that you’re excited about, surrounded by people who feel the same way.As a researcher, I read his book Delivering Happiness as a subliminal message to anyone working with customer satisfaction or loyalty data. Reading his book, it’s clear Tony set out to highlight his journey, not to write a comprehensive corporate history or autobiography.  This is the golden rule in report writing as well – pull out the highlights and tell a story around the most important pieces.  

Tony adopted another critical rule of report-writing: write for your audience.  Tony admits his book is not a work of grammatical perfection, but it’s written in a way that makes it easy for everyone to read and enjoy. This separates Delivering Happiness from many of its neighbors in the world of “business books” – its informal tone is easy to digest. Throughout the book, Tony seamlessly juxtaposes comical stories of growing up with Asian-American parents with stories of his ambition, failed attempts, and successes.

Beyond the autobiographical elements of the book, I found the managerial guidance in Delivering Happiness also relates to research. The following principals are important context when writing recommendations, but also when thinking about survey design and analysis interpretation. As an added bonus these “rules” might also serve you well in your personal interactions:

1. Remember that you are an n of 1; other people have opinions, too. When Tony was first approached with the idea of starting an internet shoe website, he was skeptical because he himself had never considered purchasing shoes through a catalog and couldn’t imagine people buying shoes without trying them on. My toes are thankful that Tony realized “it didn’t matter whether I would be willing to buy shoes without trying them on first.”

2. Embrace change with an open mind.
Zappos.com was originally based on drop-ship sales, and had shied away from opening a warehouse with inventory because it was not part of their business model. When they realized they were limited in what they could offer their customers, they thought, “If changing our business model is what’s going to save us, then we need to embrace and drive change.”

3. Listen to employee’s feedback. Customer feedback is great – but it’s important to also hear from your employees. Happy employees are critical to delivering a positive customer experience, and employees working in the thick of daily processes often have valuable insight and ideas around what would enable them to better deliver.

4. Pay attention to word of mouth and the lifetime value of customers. It’s important to think about how your company is interacting with customers at every level – one happy customer with a large network of friends may be more valuable than he first appears. Zappos.com trusts their employees and empowers them to help customers in any way they can – even if that means recommending another site for their purchase.

From a research perspective, mobile technology strikes me as the most obvious application for these principals. As mobile technology changes the way consumers shop and interact, we are presented with new opportunities for listening and observing. As you think about your personal and professional goals for the new year, keep an open mind and hopefully happiness will find you.

Jeannine is a Project Manager working with our Tech, eCommerce, and MedTech practice. She finds happiness learning about new places through reading, travelling, and talking with just about anyone she can find.

What's your plan for delivering happiness in 2013?