Every year I convince myself I’m not going to get sucked into watching the Kentucky Derby again. It’s two minutes. I’ll just look up the results later.
And then somehow two hours later I’m scrambling to find a seat in the living room just before race time, start crunching the math on a trifecta, and listening to analysts discuss track conditions as if I’ve been watching these horses all year. I’m sort of an expert, except I really make my pick based on the best name. But all is forgiven because I make a mean Mint Julep.
Every year, the gates open and mayhem ensues. Absolutely nothing goes to plan. “That one’s done.” “No way that horse bounces back.” “This race is over.” And then, like clockwork, the same thing happens… A horse that didn’t get a clean break gets blocked, drops back further than you expect, then finds a seam and starts to rally. By the time they hit the stretch, everything I thought I knew about the race is out the window, which is my favorite part.
Because it’s not really about who is the fastest. It’s about when you’re fast. It’s about making the right adjustments and striking when the opportunity is right.
Loss prevention is a retail steeplechase. We are the horses.
Every year people get hyped about new programs, fancy new tech, or a new strategy. Then, fast forward a few months and adoption isn’t where you wanted it to be. Maybe your data still sucks. Maybe your stores are resistant. And then it happens, we jump too soon. Investigations didn’t develop or programs get scrapped because “we didn’t get the results we wanted.” We’re always too eager to bail before the race has a chance to play out.
Does this pass for decisiveness? More times than not it’s just impatience.
The best LP teams don’t freak out when they fall behind early. They don’t make unfounded assumptions about the results. They stay in the race. They make the necessary adjustments and position themselves to win down the stretch.
Big wins in this industry take time. Identifying root causes, changing store behavior, and getting buy-in from the executives don’t happen overnight. More importantly, they also don’t happen if you throw in the towel too soon.
There’s a difference between recognizing a strategy isn’t working and walking away before it’s had a chance to play out. Most teams don’t fail because they chose the wrong strategy. They fail because they didn’t give it a chance.
Going with the grain means giving up when you’re behind.
Going against the grain means fighting like Golden Tempo and going for Triple Crown.