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From Influence to Empowerment: How to Own Your Algorithm

Writer's picture: Letecia GriffinLetecia Griffin

As a disclaimer, EnvisionCo Blog is reader-supported. Some links on this site are for additional informational purposes whereas some others are affiliate links (don't worry, these will be clearly marked as such). When you click through an affiliate link on our site and sign-up for a service or finalize a purchase, we may earn affiliate commissions. This of course is at no additional cost to you. Additionally, EnvisionCo Blog is for informational and educational purposes only and is in no way intended to be a substitute for financial advice by a registered certified financial planner, medical advice by a qualified physician, or therapy by a trained mental health professional.


A man walked into a Minnesota Target and demanded to see the manager. He was clutching an advertisement. He was very angry.


"My daughter go this in the mail!" he said. "She's still in high school, and you're sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?"


The manager didn't have any idea what the man was talking about. He looked at the mailer. Sure enough, it was addressed to the man's daughter and contained advertisements for maternity clothes, nursery furniture, and pictures of smiling infants gazing into their mothers' eyes.


The manager apologized profusely and then called a few days later to apologize again.


The father was somewhat abashed.


"I had a talk with my daughter," he said. "It turns out there's been some activities in my house I haven't been complete aware of." He took a deep breath, "She's due in August. I owe you an apology."

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The opening excerpt above was taken from the book, "The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and business," by Charles Duhigg.


How did they know? Andrew Pole.


Once upon a time, a company like Target would never have hired a guy like Andrew Pole. You see, Andrew Pole was a statistician. His life revolved around using data to understand people. Not long after Andrew Pole had started working as a data expert for Target in 2002, a few of his colleagues from the marketing department stopped by his desk and asked the kind of question Pole had been born to answer, "Can your computers figure out which customers are pregnant even if they don't want us to know?"


Why was this so important? Money of course.


Pregnant women and new parents are the holy grail of retail. Some could say there is almost nor more profitable, products hungry, price-insensitive group in existence. From baby gear and nursery essentials to parenting books and specialized foods, their needs span a vast array of categories. What makes this group particularly valuable to retailers is their eagerness to invest in quality and safety, often prioritizing these over cost. Their purchasing decisions are not just about convenience—they're rooted in ensuring the best for their child, making them less price-sensitive and more open to premium options. For businesses, this translates into an almost unparalleled opportunity to build loyalty and profit from both immediate purchases and long-term brand affinity as their parenting journey evolves. Figuring out who was pregnant, before the competition, could make Target millions of dollars. Of course, Target needed a man like Andrew Pole.


I won't go into too much more detail on the methods used by Andrew Pole while at Target to learn the things about customers that the customers hadn't readily shared. I would encourage you to get the book and give it a read. It is linked in the table above.


I will say that thirty years ago, retailers didn't do this kind of intensely data driven analysis. They tried peering into our heads the old-fashioned way. They'd hire psychologists who would give them tactics that they claimed would make customers spend more. And to some extent, some of these methods are still in use today. For instance, when you walk into your local Walmart or shopping center, often the first thing you see is a beautiful array of fruits and vegetables. Which at the start of the new year, is a given that people are going to buy. Why? New year new me, right? We have been conditioned to make life altering changes in the dead of winter every January. Marketers know that if you place the healthy stuff out front (especially at the start of the new year when everyone is vowing to do better by their health) we will load up on healthy stuff. Feeling good about the dopamine boost this gives us, we are more likely to by Doritos, Oreos, and frozen pizza when we encounter them later on (because you know, got to reward yourself for doing so good).


Then there is the other trick they use. Did you know you turn right after entering a store? There may be a few outliers but it is almost a guarantee that you do. And marketers and retailers know this psychologically about you. Which is why they fill the right side of the store with the most profitable products. These very old school tactics are still in use today. However, they have been combined with more individualized approaches to you. To increases profits, they have to get to know you and your habits, your algorithm so to speak. So that they can market to you the individual, appealing to your unique buying preferences. When the world can understand your habits, they can get you to buy almost anything. And darling, I'm not just talking about products here.


Do you remember this blurb from the opening article of this year:

"...what did 2024 reveal about yourself, your life, and the world around you? For me, it highlighted that people often have short memories. Sadly, if given the chance, we tend to repeat the same mistakes and lessons again and again. This is largely due to our habits. Our bodies and minds fight to maintain balance, even if the state we’re striving for isn’t beneficial for our wellbeing or aligned with our life goals. Even with the right resources, good intentions, and ample time, we still make choices that don’t match what we claim to want. Why does this happen? Clarity. (New Year, New Clarity: 7 Tips to Embrace Self-Leadership)

Since it's exception, Envision Coaching & Consulting LLC through EnvisionCo Blog has invited all to take a look at the who, what, when, where, and whys in our lives. Whether it is regarding time management, understanding the significance of history and different historical figures. Whether it is rectifying the thinking errors that plague our lives while challenging negative self-talk, and improving our communication. Whether it is identifying burnout, prioritizing wellness, or defining our own individual slices of happiness, EnvisionCo Blog has brought a little of everything for everybody. Because wellness requires balance. This can mean physical fitness and being conscientious about the foods we eat or don't eat or the sleep debt we rack up. This can mean financial and minding our spending. This balance can look like traditional therapies or coaching, or it can be those little unconventional techniques everyday out of the box type habits. Envision Coaching & Consulting LLC has been encouraging since day one, slowing down and getting to know your own algorithm. Afterall, everyone knows your algorithm and are exploiting it.


As I reflect back to Duhigg's exploration of Target and how they used a statistician to identify things about customers without customers knowledge or even informed consent, it made me think of how far things have come since 2002. Now all of the data is being collected via your media. What does your habits say about you? Where you are mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually? How are others using this information to plug into your algorithm? What are they influencing you to "buy"?


💬 What’s one habit you think someone could “predict” about you? Let me know in the comments!


Returning to our opening article of the year:

"Clarity precedes competence. Over the last three years, we've improved our skills and dare I say competence in many areas...But without clarity, the lessons and advice we receive won’t stick. The "why" behind our actions is crucial. Gaining clarity requires effort—there’s no shortcut. You must understand yourself and your goals. Without that clarity, you’re likely to make many missteps."

In that article, we discussed the importance of Self—the core, wise, and compassionate part of you. We discussed identifying the parts of your life that aren’t working, and understand what’s driving those challenges; setting clear goals with the understanding that some resistance may be present within you; and exploring who you truly are at your core. In other words, we discussed recalibrating your algorithm. What steps are you taking to begin this process?


Regardless of your political or religious ideology or stance, in the days, weeks, months, years, even decades to come, your habits your algorithm are going to be hijacked in ways we haven't seen in decades. And if you do not already have a solid self-care plan in which you regularly connect with your core energy, you will be completely oblivious to the attacks to come. It will be as easy and simple as steering us to the right when we enter a store. They've done it so much over the decades, we by habit reprogrammed ourselves to automatically steer to the right. The same will be true for the energies at play now. This new programming will not be good for you mentally. Not good for you emotionally. Not good for your financially. Not good for you spiritually.


What can you do now? A very solid outline to start was provided in our article, New Year, New Clarity: 7 Tips to Embrace Self-Leadership. If a part of you is curious about the current frequency or programming of your current algorithm, let’s explore that together. Schedule a session with me and begin your journey into self-discovery, where clarity is not a destination but an unfolding experience of connection, balance, and inner harmony.




As I close this article, please remember that wherever you are on this wellness journey, do not worry about getting it perfect; just get it going. Until next time. Happy reading!


"The machinery of propaganda may pack their minds with falsehood and deny them truth for many generations of time. But the soul of man thus held in trance, or frozen in a long night, can be awakened by a spark coming from God knows where, and in a moment the whole structure of lies and oppression is on trial for its life." ~Winston Churchill

 

Here at EnvisionCo Blog, we try to keep ads to a minimum making our blog entirely reader-supported. We may feature links on this site for additional informational purposes. From time to time, we may feature other links which are affiliate links (and these will be clearly marked). When you click through an affiliate link on our site and sign up for a service or finalize a purchase, we may earn affiliate commissions. This is of course at no additional cost to you. However, if you like what you see and would like to make a donation to help us keep ads to a minimum, we would greatly appreciate it! Nothing fancy. We accept the price of a cup coffee with as much gratitude as we would the price of a tank of gas!



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