“Seeing what every body has seen…

…And thinking what nobody has thought”.

This is a beautiful definition of discovery attributed to Albert Szent-Gyorgy and brought to us by Jules Goddard and Tony Eccles in their wonderful “Uncommon sense, common non sense”. When marketers are unfamiliar with the market they want to explore, they tend to observe what is new to them, but not necessarily what is new to the local people. When they become familiar with the markets they want to exploit, they become part of the eco-system to the point that they loose the ability to think in novel terms. Entrepreneurs should be looking for a mix of insights and foresights to be able to identify opportunities. This takes time. My concern is with the duration of marketers in role. Like many other managers, marketers feel they are performing well if they move and change jobs frequently. How many brand managers stay longer than 2 years in one role, and on one particular market? Have they got then sufficiently exposed to their target audience to reach a sense of insight and foresight?