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Fresh Eyes

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costs, Wal-Mart operates with expense rates that competitors aren’t likely

to approach anytime soon.

Ignorance of the rules has paid off. In their fi rst 36 years of operation,

Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Super Centers, and Sam’s Clubs combined to capture

15 percent of the total U.S. retail market, including autos!

Long standing businesses must get ignorant in order to get smart—

ignorant in the sense of never treating the industry’s conventional wisdom

as unquestionable dogma. The trendsetters’ only dogma is: Question

everything.

How to get ignorant to become smart

• Walk through your offi ce, store, or plant, as you have never

done before. Each step of the way; adopt the naive eyes of a

young child and ask questions like, “Why are things done this

way?” or “Why can’t we do that a different way?”

• As you talk with manufacturers and distributors in your

supply channel, notice the compromises being tolerated out

of “it’s-always-been-done-this-way” habit. Then imagine you

are a child who feels no need to compromise. (Remember,

kids don’t care about budgets, so don’t shut down your capac￾ity for no-limit thinking at the very outset with preoccupa￾tions about paying for the innovation.)

• Better still, invite a group of grade-schoolers to tour your busi￾ness and encourage them to voice their questions and share

their reactions. Get ready for an eye-opening experience.

In 1966, Payless Shoes President Maxine Clark left to

pursue her mission of bringing the theater back to retail￾ing. In her research, Clark visited a factory that offered

tours to grade schools and scout troops. She observed how

the process of seeing products actually being manufactured

enthralled the children. Clark decided to recreate the fac￾tory’s process in a mall-based retail experience, known as

Build-A-Bear Workshop. The workshop is organized into a

Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine

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sequence of eight stations where children and adults work

on their furry friend selected from 30 stuffed animals. The

stations are titled Choose Me, Stuff Me, Hear Me (a record

your own message chip to serve as the bear’s voice), Stitch

me, Fluff Me, Name Me (a birth certifi cate and entry into

a bear tracking system), Dress Me, and Take Me Home (a

carrying/storage case).

Clark’s advisory board includes children ages six through

14. She is constantly checking ideas with friends’ children,

children she meets during travel, and of course, feedback

from in-store questionnaires.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is one of the few mall-based inter￾active retailing experiences for children. In 1991, National

Retail Federation honored the company with its Retail Inno￾vator of the Year Award.

• Practice thinking like a kid who doesn’t know any better.

Pretend that you are a 6-year-old blessed with a huge

capacity for no-limit thinking. What are the wildest dreams

for services that you would love to have available? For

example:

- Why can’t they develop some surgical procedure,

neuron stimulation method, or drug to create selective

memory, so we vividly recall happy times and totally

forget unpleasant experiences?

- While golfi ng, why can’t we channel to our conscious

minds the same thoughts Tiger Woods does when he

contemplates a 12-foot putt?

- Why can’t we have a company that specializes in clean￾ing and organizing garages (so we can actually park our

cars in them)?

- Why can’t there be an emergency number to call when

you need help with a computer problem and you

receive the tech support runaround?