Why You Should Treat Your Customers Like Numbers
There was a story out this week on social media that attempted to draw a correlation between U.S. Olympic athletes failing to medal and the athletes bib number in competitions where bibs are required. Basically, the argument was that athletes wearing the number “4” were highly likely not to win the competition. The inference being that this was due to the number “4” being an unlucky number in Korea as the number “13” is in the U.S. The reality is, however, that it is not a coincidence at all, nor is there a supernatural force at play. The fact is that bib numbers, or starting orders, are assigned based on performance in past events. In other words, a competitor wearing the number “4” is, on average, expected to be the fourth best competitor in the competition. Therefore, it would not be entirely surprising if they finished off the podium which recognizes only the top three competitors in each event. As these athletes probably resent their starting...