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By Root 719 0

I'd already learned. I had recently read several articles about what was happening to Ghost at the box office. It was an unexpected megahit, one that was attracting almost double the number of women than men— and many of them were seeing it more than once. Several “experts” had hypothesized that its success reflected a desire for romance in films as well as a need on the part of many people to be reassured that there might be some form of immortality. Based on the success and the theme of the movie, it would make sense that a tender, almost mysterious shot of Demi could work—perhaps even better than one with a glamorous, megawatt smile.

When Claire Brinker first suggested to management at Red Cross Shoes that they ought to create and market a walking shoe, her gut feeling about it was backed up with plenty of research from places like the U.S. Park Service showing that walking was booming as an activity. And unlike many leisure activities, it appeared to have staying power. “I had demographics on my side,” says Brinker. “As women aged, they would be even more likely to want to walk because it's kinder to an older body. Plus, research showed that people like to walk not only because it's good for their hearts and their cholesterol levels, but it's mentally relaxing.” That fact seemed to promise that many women would be walking long after they had sold off their Thighmasters and Abdomonizers at tag sales.

The best gut instinct is always an educated one. When I first got to McCall's, I thought I could use my gut instinct “as a woman” to judge every idea, but I soon realized that in some ways I was different from the McCall's reader and a pure gut reaction didn't work I have a real irreverent streak and an appreciation for saucy women—if it were up to me. Sharon Stone would be on the cover at least once a year. But it soon became clear that McCall's readers didn't have much appetite for sauciness. They liked a straightforward approach and women who were loaded with integrity. When I put Priscilla Presley on the cover with lots of exquisite cleavage, several readers complained, including one who said she was horrified that her mailman now assumed she was the kind of risqué person who subscribed to dirty magazines. I had to educate myself about the reader.

So go ahead, bone up, get the numbers, make the analysis. The trouble good girls have with homework is that they can do too much and end up in a paralysis of analysis. Or the homework offers contradictory information and they're not sure which road to head down. It's at this point that you have to go into your office, close the door, and listen to your instincts.

“You can't overanalyze,” says Matthias. “At some point you have to step back and ask, ‘Would I and my friends, as consumers, want to buy this?”

After launching and running a highly successful chain of maternity clothing stores, Matthias wanted to open another chain that also sold maternity clothes, but more upscale outfits. Not everybody thought it was a good idea. And Matthias knew there were plenty of case studies around demonstrating how a second business can cannibalize the main one. “But I always felt that there were two kinds of shoppers for maternity clothes,” says Matthias. “There was the Talbot's shopper, whom we were attracting with Mother's Work. But there was also the upscale Barney's shopper, whom we weren't yet marketing to.”

Matthias went with her instincts and Mimi's was born, geared to upscale mothers-to-be. Matthias says it has been a ringing success and has not hurt the original chain.

Note, by the way, the use of the word felt on Matthias's part. For me, this has always been a way to son out what my gut is really telling me. If I'm considering a step that sounds good “on paper,” I ask myself how I feel about it rather than what I think of it. In other words, if it makes me feel energized and excited, that's a much better sign than merely thinking it would be “important” to do. If I'm still in doubt, I ask myself. How will I feel if I don't do it?

I've always wished I'd done this with my Warren