Evolution is a careless tester. This careless tester is also responsible for how we process information, feel emotions, register whom we want in our tribe and whom we don't, and so much more. This careless tester never asked what we wanted either.

No hunter-gatherer, ape, or homo sapien asked for dynamic eyesight, a sense of humor, robust language, thumbs, or to walk upright. Our ancestors were forced to fight off their environment constantly, and partners who could survive, be diplomatic, and stay healthy were eventually selected as mates and allies.

Who even says that the evolutionary developments we are working with are the best they could be? But they have gotten our species this far, so evolution found no need to analyze.

The economist John Maynard Keynes has a quote that fits this perfectly: "It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong." Loose translation: it is better to find what works than it is to analyze why it works.

These are two very different angles of study, and one doesn't often lead to effectiveness. Due to the software that our animal brains are running on, we tend to attach a "logical" explanation for why things happened the way that they did. The problem: there are way too many limitations to our point of view, beliefs, and processing.

"Evolution," the famed behavioral observer at Ogilvy, Rory Sutherland, says, "doesn't rely on reason and isn't a long-term planner."

To put all of this into a marketing context, we analyze why something went wrong too much. Or what will happen when we put it out into the world. But, sadly, evolution and our customers' attention do not care. They just want what works; they want it now and won't know they want it until they see it.

If you're interested in navigating the wants of your customers in a compelling way, contact me below.