Ask people what their organisations need to do better, and nine times out of 10, they will say communicate. Whether it’s too much or too little, it’s never just right. When it comes to communication, we have a Goldilocks problem.If you think communication is not your job, you’re wrong. Everyone...
The sign on the counter said: ”If you’re not satisfied with your stay, let us know and we’ll make it right.”I’m sure plenty of similar signs litter hotels worldwide. It’s a reassuring sign. A promise to fix things. Pity it was rubbish.In the grand scheme of things, our problem was...
I’m always looking for ways different ways to make it easier for people to think about their promises.Last week listening to a recent Knowledge Project podcast, I stumbled on a conversation between host Shane Parrish and a guy called Jim Dethmer with a lively section on promises, except they don’t...
Take a look around at the broken promises you see. How did it happen? Was it neglect, poor planning, a deliberate act?My research side-project examines what wasn’t considered and leads to the downfall. So along with reading philosophical essays about promising and agreements, I’m an avid student of what’s missing...
Customer experience is often discussed as if it is a singular thing as “the customer has an experience”. However, customers continually have a whole bundle of experiences. And each one is a promise kept or a promise broken. In a past article, I talked about the dance of promises and experience. The...
Smart and savvy, my friend was utterly taken aback when a business venture she had poured her passion and time into recently sputtered to an acrimonious end. She’s far from alone. Statistics variously reveal 12-month failure rates for startups as anything up to a whopping 95%. Leaving aside what constitutes a...
People making demands of a company to act differently isn’t a new story. However, the nature of what they’re asking for is shifting.In a Bloomberg article sent to me by Nancy Hellmrich (@getnance), people working for furniture maker Wayfair had walked off the job because their company is doing business...
John (not his real name) was the image of a successful consultant. Neat hair, pale blue shirt under a dark blue suit. A mutual friend had introduced us and over good coffee, we shared a bit about what we do. It was all going pretty well, then John proudly said, “I always encourage the...
A note about expectations popped into my Linkedin feed this week. The author Matt Watkinson shared a seven-point list for how customers come by them.It covered a lot of things, however, sitting underneath any list is a necessary step too many organisations shy away from - saying what they can or can’t,...
The sign on the counter said: ”If you’re not satisfied with your stay, let us know and we’ll make it right.” I’m sure plenty of similar signs litter hotels worldwide. It’s a reassuring sign. A promise to fix things. Pity it was rubbish. In the grand scheme of things, our problem was...