In a new book called "The Voltage Effect," the economist John List — who has already revolutionized how his profession does research — is trying to start a scaling revolution. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, List teaches us how to avoid false positives, how to know whether a given success is due to the chef or the ingredients, and how to practice “optimal quitting.”
If you are an American of a certain age, you may remember when Kmart, the discount department store chain, was everywhere.
Kmart is more than any store you have known before.
Kmart means you get quality.
At one point, K Mart had more than 2300 locations in the US.
It was a famous birthday with one very famous in store promotion.
Sure, sure.
The blue light special.
Yeah, the old blue light special just about cost me my marriage.
John List is an economist at the University of Chicago.
His blue light special story goes back to when he was a graduate student at the University of Wyoming.
I'm sitting in our house, and it's like mid october and ten degrees and snowing.
You can imagine a cattle town.
You know, there goes some hay going down the road, and my wife is in a long rant about how much she hates Laramie, Wyoming.
And then she looks out our front window and down the street, there's a Kmart which is having a blue light special, and says, I can't even get away from the bleeping blue light special at K Mart.
It's friendly and warm, and service does not take long.
That's how big a deal the blue light special was.
It had been invented by an assistant store manager at a Kmart in Indiana.
The blue light special is what Sam Walton, the famous entrepreneur who started Walmart, said is like the greatest innovation in the world.
At least in retail, maybe, right?
At least in retail.