Evidence Over Ego

Before I get into any in-depth conversation, whether it’s politics, finance, the money supply, or the current state of CPG, I tend to ask one question:

“What is your relationship with the truth?”

Not who’s right. Not which side you’re on.

Simply this: are we willing to look at evidence together, even when it challenges our assumptions?

It’s a surprisingly disarming question.

There’s usually a pause. Sometimes an eloquent answer. Sometimes uncertainty. Because it forces a moment of reflection. Are we seeking confirmation, or clarity? Are we defending a position, or trying to understand what actually is?

Over the years as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that businesses rarely struggle because the truth doesn’t exist. They struggle because we avoid looking at it directly.

I see this every day in retention and email marketing at Clickaroo.

The technology we have now, especially within Klaviyo, exposes more truth than ever before. Engagement is measurable. Revenue per recipient is visible. Segment health is trackable.

If your 60-day engaged audience is shrinking, that’s the truth. If revenue per recipient is declining, that’s the truth.

No attribution model can fully hide that.

And yet, even here, truth isn’t always simple. Platform reporting can conflict with Shopify. Attribution windows differ. Multiple lenses exist. The work isn’t just pulling numbers. It’s sitting with clients and asking:

• What is signal versus noise?

• What are we prepared to accept and adjust?

• What does the health of this account actually look like?

Email doesn’t reward ego. It rewards honesty.

The brands that grow are the ones willing to look clearly at their data, acknowledge what’s working and what isn’t, and move forward without defensiveness.

So before any strategy, before any optimization, before any debate, I still come back to the same question:

What is your relationship with the truth?

It tends to shape everything that follows.

~ Adrian Burke 🦘