“Wired and Dangerous: How Your Customers Have Changed and What to Do About It” by Chip Bell and John Patterson (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $19.95).
Most companies ask customers questions after they’ve spent big bucks on design and delivery; customer input simply refines, rather than defines, the product/service. This “customer comes second” practice can be found in most companies touting “customers come first.”
Bell and Patterson believe that “customers come first” means designing products and services with, not for, customers. Development starts by understanding “their customers’ hopes, habits, fears and aspirations.” Customers are partners — not targets.
Pull out the drawing after you understand customer psyche. Seek their reactions to your “what ifs;” encourage them to tell you their “what ifs.” Keep the customer involved from idea to launch — and beyond. How? Harness the social media aspects of the Internet.
Mountain Dew created “Dewmocracy,” a user-driven process to launch White Out. Over 3 million customers provided input in the design, development and marketing.
To involve its IT and B2B customers, Cisco developed a downloadable video game, myPlanNet, which was downloaded over 35,000 times and has attracted over 50,000 Facebook fans. In the game, you’re the CEO tasked with solving real business challenges with Cisco products.
Every 60 days, eBay invites 12 customers to its HQ to participate in its “Voice of the Customer” program. Customers are encouraged to discuss both service and emerging issues. eBay found that this “outside in” approach allowed customers to drive change.
The authors also devote a chapter to dealing with customer issues. They see them as opportunities to improve and build a collaborative relationship. At the core of this process is HEAL:
H — Humility. Express concern for their problems;
E — Empathy. Communicate that you understand why they’re upset;
A — Alliance. Build bridges by showing a sense of urgency in resolving their issue;
L — Loyalty. Follow-up to ensure they are satisfied.
They provide many examples of poor customer service. The one about a guy calling AOL to cancel service gets the booby prize. The customer taped the call and posted it on YouTube; over 500,000 viewed it. That’s a lot of black eyes for AOL.
Thinking “customer as collaborator” reduces development costs and brings better products/services to market quicker.
“Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? A Better Way to Evaluate Leadership Potential” by Jeffrey Chon and Jay Moran (Jossey-Bass, $27.95).
The authors make their case for evaluating “DNA of Leadership Competencies” by identifying eight integrated, soft skills attributes: integrity, empathy, emotional intelligence, passion, judgment, courage and vision. With the exception of integrity, which every leader must have and demonstrate, they also realize that situations shift the emphasis placed on each attribute. Here’s a snapshot of three such emphasis shifts:
Change agent: Empathy — Must recognize how different constituents will be affected and gauge their reactions in order to construct a “why” team-building message. Emotional Intelligence — Realizes that you can’t get to Point B with Point A thinking. Courage — Prepared to meet resistance and committed to moving forward.
Growth Catalyst: Vision — Always thinks about and asks staff “What’s Next?” Judgment — Able to assess risk and choose opportunities that make the most sense in terms of organizational goals. Passion — Focuses on growth, even in difficult times. Realizes that you can’t shrink your way to success.
Keep the ship sailing steady and smooth: Judgment — Understands the organization’s vision and makes decisions consistent with it. Courage and Empathy — Deals with requests from stakeholders wanting to go in a different direction.
The authors include the success stories of numerous leaders who possess the “DNA of leadership competencies.”
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
