Going Beyond Interesting for More Impactful Insights

In this episode of the Consumer Insights Podcast, we speak with Elizabeth Oates, Senior Director of Consumer Insights at Ulta Beauty.

Data can point you to an opportunity, but it can’t tell you how to approach it. That’s where insight comes in.

Uncovering that deeper “why” is what enables you to uncover a problem, identify an opportunity for growth, or drive category disruption. However, to drive business impact, interesting isn’t enough.

In this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast, Thor is joined by Elizabeth Oates, Senior Director of Customer Insights at Ulta Beauty, who shares how to transform interesting insights into impactful ones.

They cover:

• The importance of uncovering the deeper “why” for business impact

• Why the application of insights differs across industries

• How Ulta Beauty is building a Consumer Centricity Center of Excellence

• Why looking forward (and not just in the “rearview mirror”) is essential for consumer centricity

• Why big topics, like sustainability, require you to dig deeper into consumer desires

• Why insights professionals need to be continuously learning and evolving

• The impact of consumer insights - being interesting is not enough

• What insights professionals can do to be impactful, not just interesting

• Elizbaeth’s nine core skills for insight professionals

• Why passion is the most important ingredient in a successful career

If you want to know how to go beyond being interesting to being impactful, tune in to this episode of The Consumer Insights Podcast.

You can access all episodes of the Consumer Insights Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, or use the RSS feed with your favorite player. Below, you'll find a lightly edited transcript of this episode.

Thor Olof Philogène: Hello everyone, and welcome to the Consumer Insights podcast. Today I'm excited to have an impressive Insights leader joining me for what I know will be a great conversation. 

I'm thrilled to introduce today's guest, Elizabeth Oates, senior Director of Consumer Insights at Ulta Beauty, a leading beauty retailer in the United States. Elizabeth has over 16 years of experience in the insights space, having previously worked in Insights roles at Kohl's Department Stores and General Mills. 

She has an MBA from the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she also is a guest lecturer. And she inspires a new generation of business and insights leaders. So thank you so much for joining me Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Oates:  Well, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Thor: Elizabeth, you've heard probably some of our episodes in the past, but I always like to start with your background. So could you maybe take a couple of minutes to tell us about yourself, your company and how you got to where you are today? How did it all begin?

Elizabeth: Sure. Well, first of all, thank you for having me. I am thrilled to be here and having listened to a number of episodes, you are presenting such insightful, both educational and inspiring materials. So happy to be part of that today, Thor, so thank you. 

As far as my career, thank you for the introduction, and I think you covered it really well, but a little bit more on that. I've been in the insights industry over 16 years and crossed financial services, CPG and retail. 

And what I've found is that I think it's really fun and exciting because I get to be the voice of the customer and I get to show up, not as Elizabeth every day, but as someone that's interested in the products and services that my organization sells. 

And I get to be their voice and be their seat at the table, to make sure that our organizations (or my organization right now) is serving our customers' needs every day in every way. And really, consumer centricity, I think, is not only fun, but it's also critical for our business. 

I think, if I agree with me, that my customers, well, I need them more than they need me in many cases. So if I don't serve them well, someone else will give it a shot. And so I think for the sake of my business, this isn't just fun, it's also incredible and important. So that's how I love insights. 

And what I've found is that I think it's really fun and exciting because I get to be the voice of the customer and I get to show up, not as Elizabeth every day, but as someone that's interested in the products and services that my organization sells. 

And I get to be their voice and be their seat at the table, to make sure that our organizations (or my organization right now) is serving our customers' needs every day in every way. And really, consumer centricity, I think, is not only fun, but it's also critical for our business. 

But in terms of how I got here at this role right now, like you mentioned, I've spent some time at American Family Insurance in Madison. I learned about the financial services world, had a chance to head up to Minneapolis to General Mills and got a really great perspective on the CPG landscape and the brand building that goes along with Consumer Insights and had a really fantastic experience there.

I got a call from Kohl’s and found myself in retail and didn't know how much I was going to love retail. It's fast paced and exciting and as these seasons of the year pass through it's really fun to watch consumers evolve through those seasons and really engage with our brands. 

I'm often talking with customers, and they can't talk enough about shopping and what makes retail exciting for them. And so their passion really drives me every day in my office. 

And now being in Beauty, it's almost times three. So beauty enthusiasts truly are enthusiastic and have been here at Ulta Beauty about three and a half years and have really found a love of, again a continued love of retail, but passion for speaking on behalf of consumers who are so passionate about this category.

Elizabeth's definition of an insight

Thor: And I absolutely love your passion for this topic and this subject. So let's dive into the first question that I love to ask, which is how you would define an insight.

Elizabeth: I love this question, and I think it's a really important one because as an insights professional it's really defining who we are and what we do and how we think. And so I think for me, Thor, an insight really is “the why”. 

It's really about this accurate, deep understanding of consumers, as well as their behaviors and their choices. And it's “the why”– it's not just a data point. I would say data itself is important, but that's not an insight. Data can point to an opportunity, but it can't really tell you how to approach it. 

That's where the insight comes in. And so if we know “the why” we can really do things like uncover a specific problem to solve, or identify an opportunity for growth, or drive disruption in our category. So that “why” is really critical and that's where I think not only is that the definition of an insight but what makes it so important for our business.

Data can point to an opportunity, but it can't really tell you how to approach it. 

That's where the insight comes in.

Thor: Absolutely love that definition. And if you think about your career, you've obviously worked in different industries. Have you seen that definition change over the course of your career and were there any things that made a change?

Elizabeth: That's a great question. As I look back across my career, I think that I've evolved in how I approach an insight. Early on it was easy to get data right and data can help us, guide us or understand a landscape or a situation, but it couldn't really tell us where to go forward. And forward looking I think is what's critical for our industry as we push our businesses forward so that “why” really helps us push forward. 

And I think that I've evolved my definition, not that the definition has changed, but that I've learned more. And as I look back, applying that “why” is really the true definition of insight. It's just applying it differently across different industries. So a CPG insight the why is still important, a retail insight the why is still important. But the applications are different because our business has different levers to pull.

Why consumer centricity is crucial for businesses

Thor: And I think it's become very clear for our listeners that consumer centricity is something you're very passionate about. So tell us, how would you define it and why do you think it's so important for businesses?

Elizabeth: You got me. Absolutely, Thor. I am so passionate. I laugh because it's so true. I guess I'm pretty transparent about my passion for consumer centricity. But really, I think the core need for centricity is really about a business understanding and driving what's right and doing what's right for its consumer, its guest, its potential consumer. And really, that's about making a decision every day in every way that really is guest-centric. 

And as I think about my team here at Ulta Beauty, we have put in our vision to drive consumer centricity throughout our organization. So I want everyone in my organization, not just my team, but everyone, to be thinking about what's right for the guest and making a decision that's right for that guest as well. 

I want everyone in my organization, not just my team, but everyone, to be thinking about what's right for the guest and making a decision that's right for that guest as well. 

And so we say we're going to be a Consumer Centricity Center of Excellence because it's really about being that spark for centricity. And I also think that we should make consumer centricity the heartbeat of our organization. 

And so we really need to have that idea pulsing through, across all aspects of our business, whether it's marketing, or merchandising, or the retail, or the.com, whatever it is. We need to be having that heartbeat really pulsing through.

Building a Consumer Centricity Center of Excellence

Thor: And if we continue on the topic of consumer centricity, I know that you've spoken about how your team at Ulta Beauty has transformed into a Consumer Centricity Center of Excellence. Can you tell us about the journey you've taken?

Elizabeth: Sure. I think a lot of insights teams have followed a similar path, and we've really kind of put the pedal to the metal, if you will with me on that analogy, here at Ulta Beauty. In that we're moving from someone who can answer questions to someone who can connect dots and to someone who can help the business look forward into the future. 

We're moving from someone who can answer questions to someone who can connect dots and to someone who can help the business look forward into the future. 

And I use this analogy, Thor, about that: If we're all driving a car, we do have a rearview mirror, right? But your rearview mirror is helping us understand where we've been and where we've come from, and even to some point where we are right now. 

But relative to the windshield it’s pretty small, and that windshield is really how we're looking forward and what we're seeing in the future. So driving consumer centricity is important. 

It's important because we have to know exactly where we've come from, but also where we're going and how we're going to get there. So I like that you know where you come from, but really look through that windshield and have that big forward-looking perspective all the time. And that's really how we act every day.

A tale of insightful innovation

Thor: That makes perfect sense. And maybe if you could give me a couple of or share a couple of stories about a time during your career. It could be at Ulta, but it could be anywhere before also, when you've actually been able to integrate insights that have fuelled innovation and just walk us through that whole journey. What was the insight that created the opportunity? How did you identify the insight? How did it all happen?

Elizabeth: Sure, I think I mentioned before, an insight is more than just a data point, right? And so it's about unlocking the why. 

And so as I look back and I was like, I was thinking, I thought you might ask me this question. What was I going to say about “the why” and how did we use it? 

So I think one of the greatest examples that I found–and it's recent, and it's live, and it's real, and it's true, Thor– is that in 2019, my team here at Ulta Beauty was asked to understand the landscape of clean beauty. 

And at that point, clean beauty was a growing movement in the beauty industry in which there was a demand for more transparency about ingredients, as well as those ingredients themselves being clean and natural. 

And early on, we had a data point that 75% of beauty consumers wished it was easier to know which products were truly clean. Okay, so that would seem very clear. 75%. Great opportunity, let's go do something. Right? 

But we said, “Hold on, before we start running and before we act, let's understand ‘the why’ behind that because we have to know what to do exactly. And that's going to be grounded in the why”.

So not dissimilar to the movement that happened in food just over a decade earlier, but now it's kind of coming to life in the beauty space. And we were asked to say, “Okay, what does it mean for our brand, our business, and the products we sell?” 

So my team went out and did some research. And by some research, I meant a lot. We did some really massive quantitative studies across the US. All types of beauty consumers. 

And we also did some really ethnographic research to understand how consumers are interacting with their beauty products and looking at the ingredients and figuring out what they need– what's the need behind the need? 

And early on, we had a data point that 75% of beauty consumers wished it was easier to know which products were truly clean. Okay, so that would seem very clear. 75%. Great opportunity, let's go do something. Right? 

But we said, “Hold on, before we start running and before we act, let's understand ‘the why’ behind that because we have to know what to do exactly. And that's going to be grounded in the why”. 

And actually, Thor, what we found was that below the surface of this super clear, measurable opportunity was a complicated level of thinking. 

And as we looked at all of the information points that we had, we found that there was both a left brain and a right brain “why” behind that number. 

From a left brain standpoint, customers had this very logical set of reasons that made very straightforward choices about wanting products that were free from toxins and had natural ingredients. And that was all resulting in this need for transparency, which is just clear and exactly what that data point asked for. 

And (not but!) there was also this right-brained way of thinking about making empathetic choices for themselves and the world around them. And it was really built on this desire for things like avoiding animal testing and having a positive impact on the environment and buying brands that are socially responsible. 

And those things weren't disconnected, they were actually quite connected to this need for what we had called “just clean”. 

So as we took a look at all of this together and put together that as the insight, that it's this complicated set of choices but are truly both logical and empathetic both, we acted in, I think, a pretty unique and meaningful way. And we built not a clean beauty platform, but a conscious beauty platform. 

And so today, our conscious beauty platform actually has five pillars. And so it includes things that are very much that logical side of transparent ingredients, but we also include that empathetic side. 

And so five pillars across cruelty-free, vegan, sustainable packaging, and having a positive social impact are all included beyond just “clean ingredients”. So we've actually not only built this platform, we've certified over 270 brands who want to join us in this work. So I think that “why” wasn't just important for our brand and our business, but our brand partners as well.

The toolbox of an insights leader

Thor: I absolutely love this story, and it's just fascinating to see how “the why" helped you uncover both a left brain and a right brain way of thinking about that same insight. I love it. 

Now when you work as an insights professional–and I think a lot of people in the audience are curious about this–how do you support yourself with tooling in order to actually do great work, and can you walk us through the reasoning around that?

Elizabeth: Sure, I think this is a critical question, so thank you for asking because really we have to educate ourselves and continually educate ourselves and inspire ourselves with the best work. 

Because there's two parts to what makes a great insights professional great. One is the doing, the data collecting, the fieldwork, the uncovering of the insight. And then the other side is really about applying it to a business situation and making our business take action, and really that handover to the business to say, “Okay, here's what the insight is, and here are all the things we can go do. Now go do them.”

And so there's kind of two sets of tools, if you will. And I think from a fielding perspective our industry continues to evolve to get better and faster. And so I think those specific tools, if you will, will always be evolving. 

There's two parts to what makes a great insights professional great. One is the doing, the data collecting, the fieldwork, the uncovering of the insight. And then the other side is really about applying it to a business situation and making our business take action.

So we have to, one, be ready to evolve with them, educate ourselves, and continually be on top of what's the best ways to do our jobs. But I think there's also some core skills that cross both fieldwork and the application of the business that are steady. 

There's those steady Eddies that are required to be successful over time. And so one of those things you'll often hear me talk about being naturally curious and asking the questions, and yes, I think that's true. It’s another “Yes, and…” situation.

We often say, “You have to be naturally curious.” Yes, and I also think that a successful insights professional is someone who has this passion to speak for the consumer and that passion to drive the business. We have to do both, right? 

And so we have this really cool convergence of application from a methodological standpoint, but also from a business application standpoint. And I think that's a unique skill set that's unique to this industry. And I think like in many roles, a successful insights professional also has to have this desire to learn and a willingness to be coached, right? So I've learned a lot throughout my career, and I want to share that. 

We often say, “You have to be naturally curious.” Yes, and I also think that a successful insights professional is someone who has this passion to speak for the consumer and that passion to drive the business. We have to do both, right? 

And I'm not done learning yet either. So I need to be willing to be coached by those around me, and I also want to work with those around me who are also willing to be coached. So kind of a two way relationship. 

I think that's important because I can teach someone how to use an insights tool, or I myself can learn any new insights tool. And I can also teach someone how our business works, or I can learn a new business. 

But that desire for learning and that willingness to be coached are things that are harder to teach, and I think are required for success.

Elevating the role of insights 

Thor: And a common ambition for insights leaders is to shift the perception of the insights function from a support function to strategic business partner. And I think you kind of allude to that, right, when you mentioned the different skill sets that people need to combine. 

It also needs to be a source of competitive advantage. So with that in mind in your career, how have you gone about elevating the role of insights?

Elizabeth: Yeah, this is something I also get really jazzed about.

You can probably hear it in my voice, but having an impact I really do think is the core of why our function exists. It not only exists, but it's why we thrive. And I often say, “I'm not here to be interesting.” Right? And it's true. 

Okay, being interesting is fun, and I say it to be a bit provocative, but I'm also a really firm believer in that being interesting is not enough. We actually have to have an impact. 

As an insights team, we have to be the team that pushes our businesses forward. We have to be the voice of our customers. And so this is that point where we stand up and we say, “I'm going to raise my hand, and I think that we're doing something that doesn't reflect what our customers need.” 

Having an impact I really do think is the core of why our function exists. It not only exists, but it's why we thrive. And I often say, “I'm not here to be interesting.” Right? And it's true. 

Okay, being interesting is fun, and I say it to be a bit provocative, but I'm also a really firm believer in that being interesting is not enough. We actually have to have an impact. 

You have to be willing to stand up at some points and go, “I know you don't want to hear this,” and deliver the bad news, but sometimes bad news is necessary to hear.

And so I kind of get a little bit fired up about this, as you can probably tell. But really having that impact is important for my job. 

It's important for my job, but it's also what I love about my job. And so whether it's delivering the news that we all want to hear or that we just sometimes need to hear, that's part of how we have that impact.

Elizabeth's 9 core skills for insights professionals

Thor: And I also know that you really enjoy developing new leaders and you've identified nine core skills for Insights professionals. Could you tell us about those skills?

Elizabeth: Sure, I absolutely can. I'm actually really glad that you asked. It's a passion point for me too. 

And of the nine, there really are two, I think, that are kind of unique to the insights industry and that are kind of just for us. And really the first there is about field work. It's about can you do your work on time and on budget, right? And so it's about fielding in the right way that gets the work done. It's a flawless execution of a project. 

One and two, do the work and understand what it means, right? And from those are super unique, I think, to an insights professional succeeding. 

And the second one that's very related to it is about, okay, so you've gone out and you've flawlessly executed, but can you then take all those data points and put them together and really identify the insight? So one and two, do the work and understand what it means, right? And from those are super unique, I think, to an insights professional succeeding. 

Then after that there's a couple of pieces I think that are important. And one is really about communication. I also have two core skills about communication. One is written communication, and the other is verbal. From a written standpoint, it's written in all forms, and so that written communication is important whether it's a report or an email or anything in between, right? 

It's about conveying your idea easily and impactfully to a business partner. Equally as important is verbal communication and much like written, there's a ton of different ways to have a verbal communication impact. 

It's about conveying your idea easily and impactfully to a business partner.

It might be in that age-old hallway conversation and saying, “Here's my 30 second elevator pitch,” that I always suggest my team has ready on any project that they're working on. 

But it could be all the way to the auditorium, and I'm standing up on the stage and trying to inspire the organization to do something differently. And it's also in those around the table, small group meetings, right? 

And sometimes I think those are the hardest because there's a lot of interjections and extra thoughts. But all three are important, whether it's a one-to-one, one-to-a few, or a one- to-many, verbal communication, I think, is critical.

And then going on, we’ve talked a lot about applying and getting the business to act. I think there's three core skills that are really about this business relevancy. 

One is the development of partnerships. So we talked about giving good news and bad news both. Sometimes you have to do both, and your partners are going to lean into both types of those news if you've developed a true partnership that there's a level of trust. And so that's a skill that's important for insights professionals.

We’ve talked a lot about applying and getting the business to act. I think there's three core skills that are really about this business relevancy. 

But also this business and contextual understanding, right? So I have to know what are my partners’ choices that they can make, or that they can't make, or what's easy to make, or what are the barriers to making a choice. 

And understanding how the business operates is important. So when we say, “Okay, here's your springboard, now go apply these insights,” they all make sense in terms of what are the options for my partners.

And then really influencing the business to drive results is a third in this business relevancy section – to say, “Alright, I have to be able to do all this in a way that can really inspire my partners to go out and do something and really then enable the business to have success.” 

Last two are really about making a connection. There's no one single methodology that will give me all of the answers, right? So this cross source synthesis or metaanalysis tool, I think, is important for insights professionals, and then also knowing when and where to plan for insights is important. 

I think if you're in retail you'll laugh with me on this one, Thor, but every year December 25 happens on December 25. 

It's the craziest thing, and it happens every year. So why are we surprised when it happens, or why can't we be prepared? Well, we certainly, actually we can know what's going to happen, we can be prepared, and so knowing where to fill those insights in and when to go collect them is important. I think it's just a great example of that proactive planning and understanding.

The best career advice Elizabeth has ever received

Thor: I think those are very good examples and very good pieces of advice. And if we continue on the advice side, what's the best career advice you've ever received? I know there's a lot of listeners that are early in their careers on the insights path, so very curious to hear your answer here.

Elizabeth: Yeah, I think it's really about having a passion for what you do. You will do your best work when you have found something that you enjoy doing, right? So I happen to really love this industry, and I think I do good work because of it. I think that having a passion, if your passion is about qualitative, then do that. If it's about quantitative, great. If it's about business application, do that. Find something that you're passionate for because like I said, you are going to do your best work when you love what you do.

Opportunities for insights professionals to challenge the status quo

Thor: 100%. I couldn't agree with you more, Elizabeth. You've previously spoken about how insights professionals need to go beyond being interesting, which you've addressed a couple of times during the conversation today, and make sure they are impactful instead. And what opportunities do you think there are for insights professionals to actually challenge the status quo and to make true business impact? What is it that you see out there?

Elizabeth: Yeah, there's a couple of ways in on this, Thor. One is really about doing work in a way that enables action. So we have to be ready to act when we see something. 

And one example of this is my team is also responsible for measuring customer experiences. And if we were just going to look at numbers, we could do that all day long.

And actually, we found some numbers in our BOPiS (that's our Buy Online, Pickup in Store) channel of sales here. And we found that in this Buy Online, Pickup in Store channel, our experience numbers were starting to slide. And if we were just being interesting, we put those numbers on the wall, right?

But we were ready to act. And so we went back and understood “the why” behind those numbers. 

And if we were just being interesting, we put those numbers on the wall, right?

But we were ready to act. And so we went back and understood “the why” behind those numbers. 

And we found that there was a bit of a technology issue, but also a communication issue. And so what we found was, to be totally transparent, we hadn't told customers, “We hear you, we know you're here, we're on our way.” And it was really impacting our scores.

But we found the numbers, we found “the why”, and we inspired the business to take action. And as soon as we took action, guess what happened? The scores turned around. 

And it's not just about the scores, it's about the business. And the business of the BOPiS interaction also turned around as well. So one thing is measure in a way that makes you ready to act.

Thor: You made it sound so easy though. And I know it wasn't that easy in reality. So tell us about that particular experience. How did you get there?

Elizabeth: Sure, there's a couple of months of work involved in that 30 seconds that I just gave you. 

So first of all, it was looking at the actual experience scores, right. And we're saying, “Okay, the first month they fell. Is there something about it? And the second month they fell again. Oh no. Okay, let's start digging.”

And when the third month they had fallen again, we knew we had to take action. This isn't three data points. Now we've got a trend going. And so we had to say, “Okay, what is it about our experience? And also what is it about our competitive experiences?”

So we know that our customers were experiencing great, actually, BOPiS engagements at competitive retailers. 

And we said, “What about those is so great, and how is it setting expectations for our experience here at Ulta Beauty?” So that was one way in. 

Then we also went in and we looked at all of the touch points between a customer's order and delivery to that customer, right? 

The insights team kind of found the issue, but the cross-functional team got together and took action not only to understand the problem but to make something happen differently because of it.

And we found 66 actual different places along that path that we could have a problem. And that in itself is a cross-functional team effort because it's not always clear from an NPS survey that there is a technology issue on the back end, right? But we said that was our sign to jump in. 

Now let's look at all of those touch points where something could go right or it could go wrong, and where was it going wrong? 

And that's really where we figured out that there were a couple of real clear and key places that we had to take action. So again, cross-functional team involved. 

The insights team kind of found the issue, but the cross-functional team got together and took action not only to understand the problem but to make something happen differently because of it.

Challenges on the horizon for insights professionals 

Thor: Love it. Thank you so much for sharing that. And tell me, let's talk challenges for a second. What challenges do you see that could face the insights professionals and the industry at large in the near future? What are the biggest ones?

Elizabeth: Well, if you would have asked me this question three years ago I probably would have a different answer. 

As we look back at the last three years, I sometimes say that being the voice of the customer has been the most exciting and the most terrifying three years of my career.  Because everything changed. 

But I also think that it taught our profession that we have to be ready to act, to be agile in how we get insights, in how we report those insights, and how we act on them as a business. 

We have to be ready to act, to be agile in how we get insights, in how we report those insights, and how we act on them as a business. 

And so I do think that going forward, we'll have learned a lot. That's a big phrase, but we will have learned both how to collect in an agile way, how to think about what to make of insights in a new way, and to be ready for change because change can happen in an instant. 

We had a really great insights plan in 2020. For our full year, we had a full twelve month plan of all the things that we were going to do and come March we kind of crumpled up that plan and threw it out the window, right? So it was a great learning experience for us to be agile and ready to act on change.

Who in the world of insights Elizabeth would love to have lunch with

Thor: That's the spirit. And I think we've all learned a great deal throughout these past years. 

Now, Elizabeth, this really hurts me, but this is unfortunately the end of our conversation here today. So there's one last question that I love to ask, but it's also the last question that I'll ask you today, which is: who in the world of insights would you love to have lunch with?

Elizabeth: I love this question, and it was actually really hard for me, Thor,  because the people in this industry embody this incredible combination of being both analytical and empathetic. I think those sound like opposing skill sets, but when you put them together, they are really powerful combinations. So I had a lot of trouble. 

So if it's okay, can I ask for two lunches? Okay. All right. 

So I thought about this a lot, and I'm someone who really likes to look forward, look out that windshield, not through that rearview mirror. And so there's a couple of folks in this industry who I think are pretty darn good at that. 

J. Walker Smith and Marshal Cohen both have access to mountains of data but have this incredible skill set for looking at all of that information, figuring out what's important, and inspiring businesses to take action. So I would say one of those two really talented professionals. 

But if I could have a second lunch, I think there's no rules on this question, right?

I would actually go back and have lunch with myself right as I started my career. And the reason I would think I would do that is I spend a lot of time thinking about the future and what can go right. And sometimes you get it right, and sometimes you get it less than right. But each time, as I do that process of looking forward or having a session with my team, I build perspective, and I learn something.

And for me, that learning something, that building perspective is both motivating and educational. And so not that I want to go back and teach myself all those things, if I could do that, I would. 

But also just to be inspired about, “Hey, you're in the right place. You're going to do something that you love and keep going because you are never going to stop learning, and you're going to continue to inspire and be inspired along the way.”

Summary

Thor: Thank you for a very inspiring answer. 

Wow, this is such an incredible conversation. Elizabeth, I've loved hearing about how you champion consumer centricity to truly make an impact. And if I play some of the stuff you shared with us today back to you:

I think we've all felt how you really love this job because you are passionate about the voice of the consumer. And when you told us that an insight is the why is the accurate, deep understanding of consumers, their behaviors and their choices.

It's the decisions every day in every way that is right for the guest. In the case of Ulta Beauty, you need to spark supporting and a consumer centricity heartbeat throughout the organizations. That's kind of how you define it for yourself.

I love the fact that you talk about the rear view mirror and the windshield and just that that perspective is so helpful because it reminds us about what we should not be satisfied about, which is simply understanding how we got to where we are right now, but rather understand what we need to do to fix and to get into the right opportunities for the future.

I love the example you shared with us and the fact that you got to, by asking the wide question, you got to an answer, an insight that forced you to combine both a left brain and a right brain way of thinking about the solution, which was for me, super interesting.

And lastly, you reminded us to be passionate, to speak to the consumer and to be passionate about driving the business. And it's really that combination, that unique skill set that is needed in combination with the desire to learn and willingness to be coached. So much good advice, Elizabeth. Thank you so much.

Elizabeth: Thank you for having me.

Thor : I know that I've learned a lot from talking to you today and I'm sure our audience has as well. So Elizabeth, thank you so much for joining me.