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Try Looking At It Another Way: Freakonomics And You
Posted on November 21, 2005 by Sarah Eaton.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
A BeTuitive Book Review
The cover of Freakonomics shows a green apple that’s sliced open to reveal the flesh of an orange within. That more or less sums up the entire book.
I’m not saying that in any negative way. Precisely what I like about this book is the offbeat manner in which the world is approached and explained—and the way that conventional wisdom is debunked.
It’s a book written for a general audience, one where the difference between causality and correlation needs to be explained. The result is accessibility.
Levitt also doesn’t shy away from controversy in Freakonomics. He asks questions that some might consider odd, and he asks questions that some might consider better left unasked.
Among these questions:
- Is legalized abortion correlated with the significant drop in crime rate since the mid-‘90s?
- Do executives contribute less money than administrative assistants in an honor system situation? Why is that?
- How can data help to catch teachers who cheat in order to make their students appear to do better on standardized tests?
- How is a crack-dealing empire’s org chart similar to that of McDonald’s?
- Do real-estate agents purposely encourage you to take a lower offer when selling your home? Why?
- Do parents even matter, when it comes to a child’s achievement?
- Does someone named Jack or someone named DeShawn have a better chance at landing an interview after he’s sent in a resume?
Levitt and Dubner detail the answers to these questions in the book (they are yes, yes, read it, read it, read it, yes, read it, less than you’d think and Jack), but that’s not even the most appealing thing about it. What causes it to be interesting is that these questions were asked in the first place.
It makes me think of the way companies gather data, and how that data is utilized. We live in a world where everything can be, and usually is, measured.
Levitt aligns numbers to reveal unexpected relationships between what may seem to be wholly disparate sets of data, and the effect is often unsettling. So, what would happen if you applied this idea to the way your company utilizes its data?
I imagine you’d come up with some expected results—but also some surprising insights.
And, those insights could reveal some weak points in your strategy, which, in turn could save (or make) you time (or money). Chances are that you’ve already amassed the necessary data to do so.
Freakonomics won’t tell you explicitly how it’s done; what it will do is convince you of the merit in looking at things another way. And, along the way, it will impart some intriguing ideas, theories and truths.
tags: Freakonomics | Steven D. Levitt | Stephen J. Dubner | book review
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November 21, 2005 in award winning magazine, award winning newsletter, Blog Outsourcing, blog publish, build credibility, Business editorial, Business newsletter, Business relationships, Corporate newsletter, Corporate publications | Permalink
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Comments
Marketers need to be thinking about Freakonomics and be ready for the result.
I read Freakonomics and was inspired by the story of real estate that I put the principles to work when I bought a new car. From what I was able to learn, I was better able to negotiate for the price of a car.
The bottom line is that smart consumers are looking for ways to play on the level playing field. Froogle, Zillow, Judy's Book, are all delivering information that consumers previously haven't had.
Marketers should be looking at how they are differentiating themselves to their customers because information is going to change the advantages that marketers used to have.
Posted by: Dennis Glavin | Nov 21, 2005 4:27:35 PM
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