First Movers: Brendan Witcher

BRENDAN WITCHER is the Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, as well as an author and noted authority on strategies for winning, serving, and retaining today’s consumers through digital excellence.

His industry-influencing reports are often cited for market trend analysis, and he can frequently be found keynoting global industry events. In addition to serving as a trusted advisor to a majority of the U.S. Fortune 100 Companies, Brendan is regularly sought after for commentary by Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC, NPR, WSJ, AdWeek, and The Economist. In prior roles, he led strategy, commerce, and marketing teams for retailers such as Harry & David, Guitar Center, and was an adjunct professor for Southern Oregon University's MBA program.

Why did you choose to pursue eCommerce in your career? I didn’t really choose any of the careers that I’ve had (which I have had many). I would say they most “chose” me. After my time as a restauranteur and chef in Chicago, all of my roles in strategy, marketing, commerce, and even research have materialized because someone in a position to hire me saw talents in me that I often didn’t see myself. I’ve been very fortunate in that way - all three of my last jobs I’ve been recruited for, and each have been perfect fits for those moments in my life.

What is your biggest strength, and how have you used it for your success in eCommerce? Indifference. That word usually has a negative connotation associated with it, but what I mean is that I can be indifferent to my own feelings about a topic or situation. I don’t need to win, own, or fight for things, and I don’t let a personal bias, agenda, opinions, or preferences get in the way of assessing facts or being open to hearing multiple sides of an argument. A client once called me “the most practical, thoughtful, and hype-proof analyst I have ever met.” That was probably the best professional compliment I have ever received. 

What is the weirdest skill or talent to come in handy in your eCommerce experience? Cooking. Even though most of my education is in business, I’m also a trained chef from Le Cordon Bleu, and I use cooking analogies frequently when trying to explain business topics to people. I find that bringing complex ideas to light using everyday situations generally helps people feel comfortable and confident in discussing them. Preparing a meal – both the good and bad elements - is something that nearly everyone can relate to and has experienced.

How have you most successfully influenced change within your organization (or with your clients)? When I started as an analyst, I mistakenly thought I would play the role of an educator for my clients. But I now see my role with clients as a facilitator. I’ve worked with executives at 57 of the Fortune 100 firms – including 8 of the top 10 – and these are not stupid people. They don’t need or want someone to come in and steamroll over them with buzzword-of-the-day ideas and impractical advice. They are looking for someone to present logical concepts and new ways of thinking, but also someone they can challenge, who will consider another person’s viewpoint, and who can work a conversation to a healthy, respectful end that reveals untapped opportunities for business growth.

What was your most “valuable” career failure, and why? Thinking that managing down meant looking down on people and managing up meant kissing up to people. That hurt me early in my career, but now I realize that people are just people, ignoring titles is better than ignoring problems, and that it is important to address the everyone with respect, while at the same time not being passive about being disrespected.

In the last five years, what new belief, behavior or habit has most improved your life? That nothing we “do” is really all that sacred or important. It has allowed me to not take myself (or what I do) too seriously, which has the real effect of me being able to do my job better by enjoying each task, meeting, speech, or client engagement a lot more.

What are you learning right now? I’m taking a 6-month course and becoming certified as a Google IT Help Desk Administrator through Coursera. I really appreciate our help desk folks at Forrester, but I like figuring out answers to problems myself.

What are the 1-3 songs that would make up your career soundtrack today?

• Changes by David Bowie: My career over the last 25 years looks like I cut and pasted jobs from 5 different people, but I like to reinvent myself every few years (I’m probably due, but I like my job too much right now).

What are the 1-3 books you’ve gifted the most or that have greatly influenced your life, and why?

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I’m a huge fan of self-discovery novels, ones that focus on destiny and fate vs. conscious, purposeful choice. I like the thought-provoking nature of them.

If you could have a gigantic billboard for the world to see with anything on it, what would it say, and why? â€œYou are enough!”

I see too many people feeling like their past defines their future, or like someone else in the world is for some reason better, more capable, or skilled at being what they want in life. To quote Mad Men, “The universe is indifferent.” I like thinking that way because it means I can wake up each day and use it as an opportunity to be the person I want to be that day, or do the job I want, or live my life however I want. I like living life like there are no limits to what I can do or be, and the past seems to get in the way of that for a lot of folks. 

What are the worst recommendations or advice you have heard related to eCommerce? “Focus on low-hanging fruit.” First of all, I worked for Harry & David (the pear and fruit basket company), and it is a biological fact that high-hanging fruit that have received more sun are far superior to those down below in the shade. That aside, the term, as it is applied to business, means, “Find the things that are quick and easy to do.” Translated: work on projects that doesn’t move the needle for your business because the change is either operationally soft or most customers don’t care enough about what you’ve done to change their behavior. You know why retailers and brands struggle? Because they spend small increments of time working of small projects that are easy but ultimately create nearly unperceivable differences to their business. I usually avoid invoking the name Amazon, but anyone who admires them and what they have become should really ask themselves if they believe Mr. Bezos has ever gone after “low-hanging fruit” as a business strategy. 

What advice would you give to a future leader of change about to enter business, or specifically the eCommerce field? Don’t be clever, be curious. The smartest people I know in this business are not the ones that talk the loudest, or say the most outlandish things, or are always quick to give “their POV” on everything (even things they really know noting about). It’s a big industry, but it will eventually feel small for anyone working in it for a couple years, and very few people working in this space have more than 1 degree of separation. The people who have the best ideas and are more respected are usually are the ones who are asking more questions of their peers than trying to standout like an oracle of some sort. Be that kind of leader, that kind of person, and you’ll do well. 

What specific, industry-related change do you believe will happen that few others seem to see? Automated retail. This is way out there, but I see a world where most of our consumable purchases are automated based on life triggers. E.g. I run out of dog food, and dog food is automatically sent to me, but “dog food” can also be lightbulbs, batteries, bananas, diapers, leaf bags, pens…whatever. All of these things happen using computer vision, sensors, AI, edge computing, and 5G, where consumers set stock triggers and purchases happen without the need to do any “shopping” at all.

What is the last thing you bought online, and why? My last online purchase was Bar Keepers Friend Powdered Cleanser – because it isn’t carried by any local retailers and is by far the very best product for cleaning professional-grade kitchen pots and pans. Not that sexy, but totally necessary. 

* * * * * * *

First Movers is a change leader interview series featuring select industry pioneers who are driving the evolution of commerce, the consumer and everything in between. If you would like to recommend a change leader for consideration, please reach out to me on LinkedIn.