Unconventional Growth Strategies: Lessons from Pinterest and Jordan Peterson

Unconventional Growth Strategies: Lessons from Pinterest and Jordan Peterson

Introduction:
In today's article, we will dive into two seemingly unrelated topics: Pinterest's retention strategies and Jordan Peterson's advice on becoming a genius. While these topics may appear disparate, there are common threads that connect them, leading to unique insights on growth and success. By analyzing Pinterest's mission-oriented approach and Peterson's emphasis on information processing, we can uncover actionable advice for achieving growth in various areas of life.

Pinterest's Unique Approach:
Unlike traditional social media platforms, Pinterest is more focused on personal exploration and discovery. People use Pinterest to connect with ideas and content related to their interests, rather than connecting with others. This fundamental difference allows Pinterest to align its revenue model with product engagement seamlessly. By prioritizing saves as a key metric, Pinterest ensures that users are finding and engaging with content that aligns with their interests. This metric also serves as a valuable indicator of growth and content quality on the platform.

Finding the Right Retention Strategy:
Determining the ideal retention strategy for a business requires understanding the natural time period in which users should take a specific action. In the early stages of a startup, targeting the normal frequency of a behavior can be effective. However, in the long term, it is crucial to explore ways to increase that frequency and adjust metrics accordingly. Many teams get stuck in a rut by isolating variables in their experiments. To break free from this, divergent experiments that test entirely new experiences can yield unexpected growth. By challenging industry "best practices," significant growth opportunities can be discovered.

Learning from Failure:
Failure can provide valuable insights for future success. Experimenting with different strategies and observing why they fail can lead to breakthroughs. For example, an experiment at Pinterest revealed that sending emails with relevant content, rather than teaching users about the service, increased activation rates. This understanding allowed the team to focus on what truly mattered to users and improve their retention efforts effectively.

The Power of Incentives:
Incentives can be a powerful tool for driving desired behavior. At GrubHub, a game was created where users had a chance to win free food after every third order. This simple incentive significantly increased order frequency and sustained user engagement. By understanding user habits and providing incentives to shift behavior, businesses can experience substantial growth.

Reconsidering Best Practices:
Pinterest's SEO experiments challenged conventional wisdom by questioning every best practice. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their business and aligning their strategies with what the algorithm rewards, Pinterest was able to optimize their presence on search engines. This approach emphasizes the importance of tailoring tactics to fit specific business needs rather than blindly following industry norms.

The Function of Growth:
Growth should be seen as a function that connects people to the core value of a product. Instead of solely focusing on bringing more people to the product, companies should prioritize identifying and addressing internal frictions that hinder users from connecting with the product's value. This approach goes beyond popular tactics or channels and requires a deep understanding of the business and experimentation to overcome bottlenecks.

Actionable Advice:

1. Prioritize metrics that align with your mission as a business rather than solely focusing on revenue-driven metrics. This approach can lead to more meaningful engagement and growth.
2. Embrace divergent experiments that challenge industry best practices. Sometimes, the biggest growth opportunities lie in contradictory results.
3. Understand your users' habits and provide incentives to shift behavior. Incentives can be a powerful tool for driving desired actions and increasing engagement.

Conclusion:
By examining the retention strategies of Pinterest and Jordan Peterson's advice on becoming a genius, we can derive actionable insights for achieving growth in various aspects of life. Prioritizing mission-aligned metrics, embracing divergent experiments, and leveraging incentives can lead to significant breakthroughs in growth. Remember, growth is not a menu to pick from but a function that connects people to the core value of a product or endeavor.