I knew the CBS Sunday morning show had to be something special when three friends e-mailed the link to me.
It was a feature on a Texas photographer, Teresa Berg, 
who volunteers her talents to the Texas Dachshund Rescue Foundation. She produces beautiful pictures of their homeless dogs, replacing the usual grainy pictures of a red-eyed dog in a crate. Her photos put dachshunds into pearls, bowties or onto velvet cushions.
The result? The adoption rates of the homeless dachshunds have doubled and the length of time a dog remains in foster care has been cut from an average of three-to-six months down to eight weeks. What makes the difference? “You make that dog look like a potential member of the family,” said Berg.
So what do doxies in pearls have to do with market research?
Well, I could state the obvious: that we all need to dig deeper, look past the obvious solutions, think outside the box, yadda yadda yadda.
But actually I was struck most by Berg’s willingness to use the skills and talent she employs every day to volunteer for a cause she supports. Market researchers are creative people. Researchers know how to analyze a situation, how to problem-solve, how to talk to people. How are we using these skills beyond our workplace, for the greater good?