Leadership in Action: Dividends and Interest - Out of Focus

Dividends & Interest

Out of Focus

Craig Chappelow

Evaluating human experience is an inexact science and is probably best served by using a variety of approaches. That's why I am always a bit skeptical whenever some well-meaning person in a marketing situation suggests, “Let's set up a focus group!” For me it carries the same tone as those old Mickey Rooney movies where someone inevitably shouts, “Let's rent out a barn and put on a show!”

Focus groups have been around for a very long time, although nobody really knows when the first one took place. Most textbooks identify Robert Merton as the father of the modern focus group. One of the more influential sociologists of our time, Merton coined many terms we now use every day, like self-fulfilling ...