Navigating the Straits Towards Consumer Markets

Back in my early 20’s I used to work on an oyster farm. The farm was in an open bay so we frequently had some pretty “adverse working conditions” to say the least. On one particular occasion the team had loaded the day’s harvest into one of the skiffs, nothing unusual, just the regular 4 ton harvest that would get processed and shipped out to eager palates at fine dining establishments across the US, 3 foot swells and your average 100 foot visibility in the dense morning fog. 

I particularly remember that one day because we had an “observer”, a biologist, on the main work boat gathering some data. Since the work boat still had some maintenance work to do on the farm site, she transferred over with me to head back to port early. She was a shy type, sat quietly and didn’t respond much to my charming and sophisticated chit-chat. The mostly silent 2 hour ride amongst the fog was interrupted about an hour in by her looking back at me and asking with a concerned look on her face: “How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” 

“I really don’t.” I answered with a straight face.

I didn’t know that people’s eyes could pop out of their skulls with such ease. Much like enjoying a fine wine, I let it linger for a couple of minutes; just for kicks. 

I looked around and thought that for her it must look so claustrophobic, just a 100 foot sphere of clarity with the sound of the engine bouncing off the white walls, and beyond that just emptiness. In her mind we could equally be heading straight out to the middle of the ocean (to our peril, together), directly towards a rocky bluff (to our peril, once again, together), or into the safety of the harbor (and quickly away from me); just a roll of the dice. Seeing my chance to engage her in a conversation I drew the explanation out as much as possible; explaining the presence of a predominant low pressure system in the northern pacific, the geological forces that shaped the bay, the history of trans-oceanic voyages, and the dynamics of earth’s rotation. 

In reality, there was one major factor at play: experience. 

Business isn’t much unlike steering your skiff in dense fog; you don’t have a clear view too far forward but you do have a general idea of where you want to end up, and more importantly where you don’t. And much like steering your skiff across the water, there aren’t too many substitutes for experience. 

Data, or data, however it is you want to pronounce it, is the new buzzword in business. An especially favorite one being thrown around at executive business meetings lately; right next to disruptive. Dashboards are personalized (color schemes are highly debated), scores of data sets are gathered, software systems are integrated into workflows, employees trained, and reports drafted; all running into a “so what does all of this mean?” wall at the next planning session. 

Just like being disruptive, another bone I’ve picked at previously, being a data-first business isn’t as simple as wanting to be one. No volume of data, no knife-edge accurate data point, no level of complexity on a dashboard report can substitute experience in data analysis. Sure we all feel capable of doing it, on a clear and glassy day; like the arrogant confidence that rushes over when grabbing a hold of the wheel once you’re out of the wharf. 

“Look, sales went up after we did the PR campaign with that chef.” 

Bravo Sherlock!

Ok, now dock the boat… with a full load, on a windy afternoon, during a rising tide, next to the expensive yachts. 

You feeling lucky… punk? (full with the Clint Eastwood squint)

So what does that mean? Do it again? With the same chef? Others? Will it have the same X percent growth or will it be at smaller scale?

Data (that’s how I pronounce it) in itself is not the answer but the key that unlocks a peek into the future. Without experience, we run the risk of falling into its seductive spiraling vortex and getting gridlocked, unable to discern between relevant and actionable data and the blinding white noise. 

A captain has an array of instruments displaying information that will help him make decisions about route and assignments; the barometer will give him an idea of how the weather is likely to be for the next 2-3 hours, but he certainly won’t be steering his ship with both eyes fixed on the needle; likewise if he is in the middle of a storm, the last instrument he will be looking at is the barometer. In fact, a seasoned captain doesn’t need a barometer; they can read the clouds and feel the dampness of the air, adjusting accordingly. 

Ironically, the reliance on experience has alienated the seafood industry from this new data culture; working in more traditional terms when it comes to marketing our products to a new type of consumer. Such certainty and confidence to afford the comfort to not have to scan the dials:

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I know what I’m doing.” 

This is causing many businesses to miss out on critical opportunities for growth: tapping into dietary trends, and cultural culinary fads. 

There are social indicators which are pointing towards a bright horizon, it is going to boil down to our ability to look at the dials and know where to steer our ship in the coming years.