He made an impromptu and incognito visit to a Target store in Dallas to talk to customers.

Unrecognized by store employees or customers, he sought candid opinions from shoppers. This was a surprise to Target executives because it was a significant departure from normal practice. Prior to Cornell’s arrival, store visits did occur—

supposedly as intelligence-gathering exercises—but they were “meticulously planned affairs, only less formal than, say, a presidential visit,” with the store managers notified in advance and “the ‘regular shoppers’ handpicked and vetted” (Wahba, 2015, p. 86).