Re:Focus

Who Cares About Customers?

One day, when you get old, would you like your family to support you or would you like them to care about you?

If you're family supports you, that means they will pay the bills for the old age home, call you the prescribed number of times and visit you on your birthday. But if they care about you, they will visit you more often and not on any set schedule. They will bring the grand kids over and make sure you get an extra helping of marshmallow sweet potatoes (your favorite) at Thanksgiving.

No one wants to be supported, we want to be cared for. So why are so many companies so proud of their "customer support?" You see it all the time on websites...the link in the upper corner that says simply, "support." To most that means giving you the ability to send an email with your question.  Support means answering your questions and acting in the prescribed manner.  But "care," that's an entirely different standard. Care is human...like the customers.

There is power in words - just as you plainly understood the difference when I asked you if you wanted to be supported or cared for when you get old, so too does that word impact the behavior of the people we hire to support...er...care for...our customers.  Firstly, the department itself is usually called, "customer support."  It should be called, "customer care."  We tell those who work in the department to offer "customer support."  We should be telling them to "care for our customers."

We, as customers, can always tell the difference too.  A customer support agent who has been told to offer "support" tends to follow a script.  They tend to be matter-of-fact about things. And even if the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction, they will actually tell you all the things they've done to help you and that there is nothing more they can do. That is, by all fair metrics, good support.

But customer care agents who have been told to take care of the customer, will talk to you differently.  They have more patience.  They will go out of their way or even ask one of their colleagues for help if they don't know the answer.  There is no script.  They don't need one.  If you hire someone who likes people and you tell them to take care of other people, there is no special training required...just special words to inspire them to do the right thing...to take care.

Do You Know Why?

  Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over?

 People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. Their natural ability to start with why enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things.

 Three and a half years ago I made a discovery. I discovered that all the most inspiring and successful leaders, regardless if they are individuals or organizations, regardless of their size or industry, all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way—and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does. I called this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.

Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit—those are always results. Why does your organization exist? Why does it do the things it does? Why do customers really buy from one company or another? Why are people loyal to some leaders, but not others?

Start With Why is a book for those who want to learn to inspire others and for those who want to find someone to inspire them.  Start with Why is available now at your favorite book seller.

Special Promotion: Buy two copies, give one away and we can inspire even more people...

When Your Why Is Clear...Everyone Knows It

I am often asked "how do people know when your WHY is clear?" The wonderful thing about a WHY is when it's clear, you know it...and so does everyone else. Sounds suspicious right? What you just read is a manifesto, a statement of belief, from the home page of a company called Yoga To The People. Do you know what they believe?

Even if you've never been to there, you probably have a very clear idea of what the experience would be like? It might not surprise you that they charge $7 for a class...or that on same days, the cost is just a donation.  Their goal is to get back to the essence of yoga - to relax. As they say, "Yoga is meant to help strengthen and stretch your arms and legs, not cost you one!"

This manifesto is a statement of WHY they exist.  WHY they do what they do. What they believe wasn't buried deep in some "about us" page - it was right on the home page. Because Yoga To The People starts with WHY, anyone who comes to their site knows exactly how they see the world and already has some level of expectation of what their products and services will be like. And they didn't have to read a single brochure.

When people believe what you believe, it piques their interest to either learn more or  buy from you without much "selling" required. If people don't believe what you believe, they will either turn away or do business with you anyway because you meet some other requirements. In other words, you won't lose those customers, but you will gain some very special, high quality ones.  Start with what you believe, start with WHY, and you can instantly filter and attract the customers most likely to be loyal.

Surf around the web, look at some other companies and you'll quickly see websites with home pages filled with details, prices, facts, photos - everything to "attract" new customers.  But none of it really does. And of course, your IT professional will tell you the importance of filling your homepage with more instead of less.  All that does is attract more people but it doesn't inspire them to do business with you.

The best part is, if you have the discipline to start with WHY and if someone believes what you believe, even if they don't buy your product, they may talk about you to their friends...or blog about you.  And that blog may attract more new customers than the one you think you lost.

p.s. let me know if you visit their studio because of this blog. 

Why People With A Sense of Humor Love Southwest

As for companies who aspire to be loved as much as Southwest, the trick is to know what your personality is first and then hire people who represent it.  Don't just hire anyone, no matter how great their resume and try to force them to be something they are not. Herb Kelleher, Southwest's founder and former president, said, "you shouldn't  hire people for their skills you should hire them for their attitude, you can always teach them the skills later."  The problem is which attitude? It has to be the attitude that fits your company. When your employees belong in your company, when they fit your culture, then their ability to properly represent you will come naturally.

The Best Leaders Show Up For The Cause Not The Result

Offering CEO's big money to come and run companies does not guarantee great leadership. In fact, the practice may attract the wrong leaders altogether.

With banks failing, the auto-industry in a mess and Steve Jobs returning to work after his secretive liver transplant, it's a good time to raise the subject of succession again.  

Wall Street was quite upset that Apple was so close to the vest about Jobs's health.  And well they should be, the last time Jobs left in 1985, the company slumped and didn't re-emerge as the powerhouse they are now until Jobs returned to the helm a decade later. But Jobs's health is irrelevant. Cancer or new livers aside, the fact is he can't lead the company forever and knowing how to find a good leader to succeed him is important.

But Apple is just one of many succession conundrums.  Many of the banks are sailing rudderless into the future as are companies like AIG, Chrysler and GM. Rick Wagoner, for example, was ousted from GM for mismanaging the company, only to be replaced by a man who, well, lets just say he's not much of an inspiring leader. And given the desperate need for real leadership these days, there is an ongoing debate in boardrooms and on Capitol Hill about how much we should pay these leaders for their contributions. 

The argument is that companies can not attract the best leaders, the leaders they need, unless they are very well compensated. And that, believe it or not, is actually the problem.  The flaw in the logic is that the best leaders do it for the money, which they don't.  Great leaders show up for the challenge or the cause. The bad leaders show up for the money.

Instead of finding someone with an impressive resume who is willing to help if you pay him or her enough, imagine if the Obama administration made this appeal:

The recent economic melt-down has taught us a valuable lesson - that the way we did things in the past is not the way we can do things in the future. We may have enjoyed the short term riches of the past decade or more, but we have done so by weakening the very foundations of our corporations and indeed our economy.

Now is the time for change.  Now is the time for new ideas and new leaders to emerge to rebuild our economy and our nation so that we may, once again, be the beacon of how a great free market economy should run.

We are looking for the men and woman who want to help shape the corporations of the future and help build the new American economy. The salary will not be big. The challenge will be great. And the opportunity to influence the future of our county is real.

Are you up for the challenge?  If so, please contact President Obama and tell him you want to lead.

Such an appeal does not mean that prior experience is ignored, it just means it is considered second to the leaders desire to help.  If a leader shows up for the cause, they will work with blood, sweat and tears and they will inspire those around them to do the same.  If the leader does not believe in the cause, then they will work for the money.  The very fact that got us into this mess in the first place.

Click here to download a PDF version of this article

This blog also appeared in The Huffington Post

It's Better To Be Given Than To Take

You arrive at a meeting but you forgot to bring a pen.  It's not the worst thing that could have happened, but it may be a little embarrassing. You get a break, however, the person with whom you are meeting excuses himself for a minute and leaves the room. There is a cup of pens on his desk, so you help yourself to one of them. They are not expensive pens, just your run-of-the-mill disposable pens that he probably picked up from the supply cabinet. You know it's not a big deal, it's not really stealing, he won't miss it.  You just need a pen.

The gentleman with whom you are meeting returns and sits back down at his desk and the meeting commences.  And there you are, with your pen, ready for the meeting.

But there's a problem.  The pen's not yours.  You took it. You're using it.  But it doesn't belong to you. Even though you know it's not a big deal, you KNOW it's not yours.  One of three things will likely happen:

1. Fearing that he will notice that you took his pen and say something that could create an awkward situation,  you take notes on your lap to keep the pen out of sight.
2. You take notes as normal, but you still hope that he doesn't say anything for fear of being caught.
3. You say something as soon as he arrives back. Something like, "I hope you don't mind, I took one of your pens." To which he will likely reply, "no problem, let me know if you need anything else."  Your guilt relieved, the meeting can continue in a more productive manner.

There is a difference between being given something and taking it.  When we take things, even if the item being taken is of no consequence, we know it does not belong to us.  Even if you left with the pen, you know it is still not your pen.  But if something is given to you, then that thing becomes yours.  You earned it and it creates the feeling of belonging.

The same is true for things bigger than pens. When we push others a side for a  job or to get recognition, we took the recognition, we weren't given it.  Even if we did the work required for it, the fact remains, we still took it. This creates the feeling of fear that others will know.  We may become a little defensive when others challenge us.  Worse, the fear of being caught may become the motivation for how we act moving forward. We've all worked for people like this. They may have achieved something but it's no fun for the rest of us

However, when we focus on the work at hand and not on the reward and are given a promotion or bonus as a reward, as a symbol of gratitude, then that bonus belongs to us.  We earned it.  We are less bothered if someone challenges us because we know that the bonus belongs to us.  After all, it was given and we didn't just take it. 

When we fixate on the reward, we will stop at nothing to get it.  But that reward will never really belong to us.  We just took it.  However, when we fixate on the reason we come to work, if we fixate on simply being the best at what we do, we do not set out to best anyone else but ourselves. Fear, as a motivator, declines and confidence goes up. We are better able to take joy in the success of others and feel vastly more fulfilled when we are given something. 

This dynamic exists in almost every situation where we can "get" something.  We can take clients by beating our competitor's price, for example, or we can be given the business because the client feels more confident working with us regardless of the price.  In both cases we get the bonus, the promotion, the job or the business, but in only one case does it belong to us.

By the way, I noticed you don't have a pen...please, take mine.

The Battered-Wife Customer Service Model

I saw a TV interview  with Dave Barger, JetBlue's current CEO, on which he answered some passenger questions.  One passenger asked why the airline was charging for pillows and blankets.  Barger's reply?  He said that although JetBlue was charging for those amenities, every passenger also got a leather seat and 36 free channels of live TV.

I couldn't believe my ears.  JetBlue, the symbol of how an airline is supposed to treat customers had changed strategies.  It seemed they are now opting for the "battered-wife" customer service model.  It's akin to when a battered wife asks her abusive husband why he beats her and he replies, "What are you talking about?  I put food on the table and provide a roof over your head." 

When a customer complains about something, the appropriate response is to explain the circumstances or apologize.  Offering a "counter argument" completely misses the point and ignores an opportunity to do right by your customer.  Complaints are a cry for help!

A legitimate customer service complaint had been raised to the most senior executive in the company to which the best answer he could muster was a memorized boiler plate of product features.  Did I miss something?  When did American Airlines buy JetBlue?

When a company says they "promise" to do something, that's a pretty weighty commitment.  Uphold that promise and your customers will give you a lifetime of loyalty, even if you screw up now and then.  Violate that promise and you can quickly destroy any sense of authenticity you may have built.  Worse, you quickly find yourself looking and sounding exactly like everyone else.

JetBlue used to serve as a prime example of exactly how to treat customers.  They were teaching the old boys that it's how you treat people not just the degrees of pitch your seat reclines that really matters.  Sadly, since the departure of JetBlue founder David Neeleman, JetBlue are starting to act and sound like everyone else.  Sadly, JetBlue is now teaching us a very different lesson about customer service.

JetBlue says the reason they exist is "to provide superior service in every aspect of our customer's air travel experience."  They even offer a bill of rights which includes being honest about a situation.  David Neeleman, JetBlue's founder and former CEO stood out among CEOs in and out of the airline business for his willingness to be honest.  After JetBlue suffered serious service problems during a big winter storm in 2007 (hundreds of passengers were left stranded on planes for 6 or more hours), Neeleman went on national TV and said, "we screwed up."  It was that kind of honesty which endears customers.  The JetBlue board ousted Neeleman three months later preferring the leadership style of Dave Barger, JetBlue's former COO. 

In an age in which too many companies opt for the battered-wife customer service model, JetBlue really did seem to believe in humanity.  Neeleman maintained a blog (or flight log, as he called it), the current CEO does not.  JetBlue used to have one class of service aboard their aircraft - we are all equal, we are all human - they professed.  Now, however, JetBlue allows you to pay a little more money to get a little more legroom.  I hate to be the one who points out the obvious but that's a class (though I concede, there is no curtain). 

With or without Neeleman at the helm, honesty and humanity should still prevail at JetBlue.  Barger simply had to explain that the oil crisis had put tremendous pressure on the airline and it pained them to have to nickle and dime their customers but it was either that or suffer much more serious set backs.  All he had to do was appeal to the humanity of their customers to work with them in this time of need.

There are many advantages to not making any promises to your customers.  For one, you have more flexibility.  Secondly, it's much easier to meet low expectations.  The disadvantages include vastly reduced customer loyalty (different from repeat business) and little opportunity to differentiate.  Making a promise and operating your business based on Why your company exists means you hold yourself to higher standards.  You have to be less flexible because you'll need to opt for what's right not for what's most profitable or most expedient sometimes.  But the benefits include greater long term value and much more loyalty and support from customers, even when you're not operating at your best.

I'm just sad to see one of the few companies who believed in customer first start to show signs of cracking.

I Miss Starbucks

Want to know what's going on with Starbucks?  Like so many companies that achieve such levels of success, Why the company was founded in the first place has been forgotten.  The cause that drove them to change American culture has now become something much less inspiring - now, it's all about What they do.  A company devoted to "the third space" is now just selling coffee.

The following is a letter I sent last week to Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks (his version didn't have the picture...otherwise it's a carbon copy).

July 29, 2008

Dear Howard:

I miss Starbucks.

There was a time, not too long ago, that Starbucks stood for something.  There was an underlying cause, a purpose, a belief you had about the world.  It was that idea that I bought, not the coffee.  And it was inspiring.

But those days are gone. 

Now it’s about coffee and money.  Lets be honest, it’s an open debate if Starbucks coffee is really better (and even if it is, I can get about the same from someone else).  And the money?  Well, as soon as a company starts focusing on the money, they certainly can’t focus on the customer experience. 

It’s pretty remarkable.  Starbucks is signally responsible for creating a coffee shop culture in America.  Starbucks didn’t bring coffee to the United States – it brought the coffee shop experience – the third space, you called it.  The space between home and work. People bought into the Starbucks belief – I know I did.  Your cause was clear and your actions proved it.  But over time the cause has lost its clarity, and your actions prove it.    

There was a time when you invited people to spend time in the third space – giving those who wanted to stay a ceramic cup and ceramic plate.  But then a focus on the money started to erode that purpose.  Certain decisions started to muddy the cause...dilute the belief.  And paper cups became the standard.  Nothing says to a customer, “we love you now get out” like a paper cup.  It started to be about the coffee and not about the experience.  It’s no longer about the third space.

I hope you rediscover why you do what you do.  I hope you once again become a champion for your cause, not just a purveyor of caffeinated drinks.  I miss the third space.  I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, in fact, it was you who told me over the past 20 years what you believed…and I believed you.
I would love to help you rediscover your Why.  I would love to help you inspire people again.
Hell – I just miss you the way you used to be.  I loved that Starbucks.

With great respect,

Simon Sinek

Write The Perfect Want Ad

Writing the perfect want ad has a structure and  it follows The Golden Circle.  Why - How - What. 

First I asked rhetorical questions trying to connect my Why with the Why of those reading the ad.  My Why is to inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, we can change the world. Anyone who doesn't want to change the world and who doesn't believe in the power of inspiration won't like working for me.  The title of my ad alone will appeal to those who do.

With a quick nod to what the job is, I explain exactly what it's like to work for me.  I'm honest about myself because I don't want any surprises and I don't want whoever gets the job to get something they weren't expecting either. 

How I wrote the ad automatically screened out most of the "bad fits," so I wasn't overwhelmed with responses.  And for the bad fits who did reply, it was easy for me to screen them out myself.  Most importantly, the ad appealed to the "good fits," and all the candidates I met were amazing.  I ended up hiring someone in less than a week she is fantastic.

Remember - there's no difference between customers or employees - people will either believe in what you believe and want to buy your products or they will believe in what you believe and want to work for you.  That they are a customer or an employee is merely a behavioral difference.   Either way, how you write your ad matters.

Good luck and feel free to email if you have any more questions.

Here is the actual ad I posted on Craig's list to hire a new personal assistant.

Do you believe you can change the world?

Do you believe the world needs a little more inspiration in it these days?

Do you want to help make the world a better place?

If so – I might want to meet you.

I’m looking for a personal assistant to help me on my quest. Everyday I wake up to find ways to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. I teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. I speak about it and write about it. But I can’t do it alone – I’m an organizational disaster – so I need help so that I can be as efficient and effective as possible.

There is no office, so you’ll be working virtually most of the time. You’ll have lots of flexibility and freedom with your schedule, so you can do other things – but I am not interested in someone who is a personal assistant to other people.

I travel a lot which means there is lots of scheduling that needs to get done – so you should be a super organized person.

And, as my personal assistant, I might ask for you to help with some personal errands too.

In a nutshell – I need a right-hand man (or woman)...I need a babysitter...I need someone who will help keep me organized and work with me to make this world a better place.

Can you help?

If you’re interested, drop me a note – tell me a little about you and we can set up some time to talk more.

Whoever will help me, I guarantee will help make this world a better place.

Thanks.

It Takes More Than Repeat Business To Create Loyalty

Driving loyalty is very different from driving repeat sales. There are always reasons people will do business with you that have nothing to do with you -- timing, price, convenience, lesser of evils and force of habit are just a few. These things can help influence an initial sale and they can influence repeat business, but they do not influence loyalty. Just because someone buys from you over and over does not make them loyal.

Loyalty exists when an existing customer chooses to do business with you even when a cheaper, more convenient or even higher quality option is on offer from another company. Someone's decision to ignore a sale or promotion of another seems like irrational behavior. And that's because it is. The part of the brain that controls decision-making and behavior exists in the same part of the brain that controls feelings and emotions. The part of the brain that controls rational thought does not, in fact, control behavior. Someone's decision to stick with one company in the face of overwhelming rational proof of a better offer has more to do with the buyer than the seller. Loyalty is, in fact, not rational at all but a highly emotional state.

Lets look at Apple, for example. Well known for having a fiercely loyal customer base, the base model Macintosh laptop, the MacBook, starts at $1099. A Dell laptop with equivalent performance specs is $649. The Apple is 40% more expensive! And if you're willing to have a slightly smaller hard drive than the Mac, the cost for the Dell is only $499 - less than half the price! Everyone knows that Apples have less software available for them and fewer peripheral choices. And as a recent Mac convert, I can report that my decked out MacBook is slower than my old mid-level Dell. The decision to buy an Apple the first time is clearly far from rational. But the decision to remain loyal is a deeply personal and emotional decision. Owning a Dell says nothing about who I believe I am. But owning a Mac accurately reflects my self identity.

This means loyalty is more a factor of a company's ability to express a clear and honest sense of why they exist and what they believe about the world than simply the quality of what they do or make. The clearer that belief, the more attractive the company is to those with similar beliefs.

Apple is a company not built around a product -- it's build around a belief -- the desire to challenge the status quo. It is no accident that creative-types are drawn to the machines. Apple's ability to attract such a loyal customer base has less to do with their products and their "rational" benefits, and more to do with what the company stands for. Like a flag a loyal soldier follows into battle, Apple and their products stand as a symbol for a cause worth making sacrifices -- like paying a higher price.

My favorite example of loyalty is Harley-Davidson. There are people who tattoo Harley's logo on their bodies. Some who do don't even own their product. The decision to do such a thing -- clearly irrational -- has nothing to do with the quality of Harley bikes or their value as a company. Someone's decision to display that logo on their body is a symbol of a belief. They identify as independents in a world of conformity. Members of the rugged open-road.

Because loyalty is emotional and not rational, you don't actually need to have the best product or service - it needs to be good, but it doesn't have to be the best. Loyalty starts with clarity - your own clarity of what you believe - why you do what you do. This has nothing to do with money, this is about why your company was founded in the first place. Why does it exists? What do you stand for? If others believe what you believe, they will put up with all kinds of better offers to do business with you.

A company's challenge is to never veer from saying and doing the things they actually believe. The discipline to do so is called authenticity, and there aren't too many companies left who can claim to be truly authentic. Fickle customers are not the reason there is such little loyalty these days. It's hard for someone to be loyal when no one knows what you believe.

This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post on June 1st, 2008