SEEING THE WORLD AS IT IS CAN BE A CHALLENGE FOR SO MANY PEOPLE
The other day I was rewatching The Matrix – can you believe that was released in 1999?… but I digress.
One of the most interesting scenes is where Morpheus presents Neo with a choice of the red pill or the blue pill. What was Neo’s response to the offer?
As described by Morpheus: “You take the blue pill…the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill…you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo chooses the red pill and joins the rebellion.
What will your choice be – Red or Blue?
Yes, he chose to see the world as it really is, not as it appeared to be….
That’s a lot like the choice companies face now. Do they carry on living in the blissful ignorance of a collective hallucination from the industrial age, or do they see the world as it really is now.
Maybe I’m geeking out on this a bit…
But when you’re as immersed as I am into Outside-In and Customer Centricity you just start seeing these little lessons everywhere… even in popular films.
We do a lot more about moving beyond the hallucination during the ACX Masters 4 day program.
[PRESSRELEASE] DENVER, COLORADO – August 31st, 2022
BP Group, the leader and creator of the CEMMethod® in 2006, announced that Multichoice Group Executive Head of Customer Experience and Operations, Roland D. Naidoo, successfully completed all the requirements to qualify as an Accredited OKR Coach fully.
For the full Press Release, go here OR click the button below.
When Steve Jobs kicked off the Customer Experience (CX) movement in 1997 (video here), he crystallized the idea of understanding customer NEEDS before doing anything else.
At the same time, another CX genius, Jeff Bezos, was three years into creating the most profitable company on the planet and precisely understood the working backwards imperative.
A young fresh-faced Jeff Bezos
There is this Need (even though customers don’t know it yet), and I can create the desire and meet that Need now. The rest is history. Watch the 2-minute video here.
Jeff Bezos
Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?
When Steve Jobs kicked off the Customer Experience (CX) movement in 1997 (video here), he crystallized the idea of understanding customer NEEDS before doing anything else.
At the same time, another CX genius, Jeff Bezos, was three years into creating the most profitable company on the planet and precisely understood the working backwards imperative.
A young fresh-faced Jeff Bezos
There is this Need (even though customers don’t know it yet), and I can create the desire and meet that Need now. The rest is history. Watch the 2-minute video here.
Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos employed rules and principles to make the company successful that are revealed in a new book, “Flywheels: How Cities Are Creating Their Own Futures.”
The book was written by Tom Alberg, an early-stage investor and ex-Amazon board member of 23 years, and he explained Bezos'”Day1″attitude.
The book also talks about how Bezos overcame the company’s early difficulties in attracting investors.
Alberg described the rules that Bezos followed at work based on his experience watching the tech magnate make judgments.
Customer Obsession
In his book, Alberg noted, “The most important thing is customer obsession.” He went on to say that too many organizations, in his opinion, focus on their competition rather than Their customers. According to Bezos, who testified before a congressional committee, “Customers Are consistently, delightfully unsatisfied.
We are continually inventing on behalf of our clients out of a desire to delight them” Alberg writes. According to him, Bezos made moves that harmed Amazon’s short-term business line but benefited customers and ultimately helped Amazon become a trillion-dollar company.
Continuous Invention & Innovation
“Continuous invention and innovation” is the second principle. According to Alberg, client happiness and inventiveness are inextricably linked. “When making decisions, customer happiness and innovation are powerful touchstones,” he added.
When you ask yourself, “What is the best decision for the customer?” it becomes much easier to make decisions. “Is there a way to invent our way to a solution?”and”Is there a way to invent our way to a solution?” Alberg writes.
Operational Excellence
According to Alberg, the third principle championed by Bezos is operational excellence. “Two-pizza teams,” “one-click shopping,” “single-threaded leaders,” and “working backward/becoming Outside-In” are some instances.
One of Bezos’ more inventive techniques is the”two-pizza rule,”which aims to avoid wasting a full day on unproductive meetings.
So, how does it work? The more people you have at a meeting, the less productive it will be. The notion is that instead of expressing their viewpoints and ideas, most people will end up agreeing with each other (groupthink).
What is the solution? Never have a meeting where two pizzas aren’t enough to feed everyone. According to Alberg, the fourth principle underpinning Bezos’ decision making process at Amazon is to think long-term.
Think long term
This can be everything from starting a new business to investing in new technology. Bezos’ early use of AI is one example.
“Jeff told the board that he intended to apply AI in every element of the business when firms were just beginning to understand the possibilities of machine learning and AI,” he wrote. The next step for Bezos was to employ AI experts and instruct the existing engineers on how to use AI.
According to Alberg, Amazon produced and made AI capabilities available to clients on Amazon Web Services, originally run by Andy Jazzy, now the new global CEO since the Jeff Bezos exit. Making AI available to employ in their businesses actually to compete against Amazon.
Staying Optimistic
Alberg noted that his fifth principle, and probably the most important, is his “staying optimistic for the future and how we are only in Day 1.” Bezos’ “Day 1” mindset is founded on the broader premise that, “while the internet and Amazon may appear mature to many, we are still at the beginning, according to Bezos.
Alberg commented, “It is his greatest expression of optimism about what the future will hold.”
These concepts are “not hidden,” according to Alberg. “However, you must adhere to them at all times, something most businesses are unwilling or unable to do.”
It’s been an honour and privilege to participate and attend the ACX-M course, It was an eye-opener and quite a revelation for me, I became conscious of these important concepts and aspects of customer experience, Thank you for showing us the way. Product Specialist at Laerdal Medical, India
Thank you Steve for the high quality & insightful training you delivered Your innovative approach, critical thinking & up to date case studies facilitated this achievement 👍 Muath Al-Azzam, Principal Services & Operations Specialist at Dubai Municipality
I have to say, every day since I left Denver, I have been able to apply some bit of learning that I got during the ACXM event into not only my job, but my personal life as well. Thank you so much for everything that you’ve done to advance the field of customer experience! Brett Gill, United States
Thank you Steve for another enlightening and engaging course that just keeps challenging the way we do things® Edwin De Lange, South Africa
Thanks again for four great and inspiring days. Christian Becker, Germany
It’s been great training with lots of new tools that we will be able to implement soon I hope. Super interesting information, I am looking forward to reading your book as well. I really appreciated your energy and enthusiasm throughout the training. Silvia Fernandez Calvo, Spain
Let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. Steve. Your teachings are timeless and they stick perfectly and forever in our minds. We shall never forget you wherever we find ourselves on this planet. Thank you so much, Steve 🙏 Benignus Otmar, Tanzania
Thank you, the experience was enlightening, empowering, educating, encouraging, and engaging. Natasha Doren, South Africa
Thank you, Steve, I have never enjoyed anything more than the CX course, The weight of knowledge I gained and the enlightenment that I got is indescribable. Reem Elsadig, Sudan
Thanks, Steve for such an excellent program, the dedicated manner you use to share with us your wonderful knowledge and wisdom in CX, and the time to respond to all our questions! God bless you, thanks a lot! Yanese Angeles, Dominican Republic
You started me out on this journey my friend. Thanks for letting me live out my passion! Molly Redenbaugh, Iowa, United States
Thank you! It’s been an amazing journey and you have been a great mentor. It was an honor taking your class, I am now a confident CPP Master🙏🏾 Masele Masudi Msita, Tanzania
Thank you Steve for your high-quality wonderful Master. I thought the course was brilliant. Thank you for everything. Ashraf Mohamed, Philadelphia, USA
Thanks again, Steve. Not only have you been a fantastic mentor to me but you have taught me how to mentor others. Thanks for being so supportive and getting me through. Chandan Chhabra, Delhi, India
Another fantastic learning, personal and professional development experience with you! Lyall Shapiro, Australia
Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?
This time we feature a nice short video from the CX Rockstar James Dodkins.
A quick google search on ‘Silo working’ reveals 37.1 Million finds and this is not a new topic. Hammer and Champy were not the first to raise the issue in 1993, but they were early advocates of sweeping away that silo thinking in ‘Reengineering the Corporation’ with their cry of ‘Don’t Automate, Obliterate!’
The Silo Mentality as defined by the Business Dictionary is a mindset present when certain departments or sectors do not wish to share information with others in the same company. This type of mentality will reduce efficiency in the overall operation, reduce morale, and may contribute to the demise of a productive company culture.
Do you want to embrace advanced Customer-Centric thinking and become Outside-In?
Executives are struggling. There is a collective fear of the Kodak Moment, where previously established businesses evaporate like the morning mist. This fear is driven by the unsettling realization that the Digital Customer is literally changing everything, and if your business relies on outdated techniques and approaches (you know who you are) then you will indeed experience a rather unpleasant surprise.
Executives are searching. Then there is the good news that online conferences, seminars, and workshops are full to overflowing with questful people looking for the answer. That’s good, however, 90% of what they hear and see is simply putting ‘lipstick on a pig’. It is the same old same old adopting fancy language and claiming salvation -if you would just follow the script and suspend your fear, uncertainty and doubt.
The new Kodak Moment is when you realize that Customer Needs have shifted so significantly from your products and services that it is too late to change
Executives are frustrated. The foolhardy keep hoping that doing the same thing faster will produce a different result. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Meanwhile inexperienced youngbloods advocate revolution and change, without fully comprehending how the future is actually, pragmatically going to work. But there might be hope for some.
Executives (increasingly) are getting it. There are some refreshing conversations driven by leaders who are guiding their people, customers and shareholders to higher ground and safety. They are building new capability and bringing a far sight vision into today’s reality.
The challenge? How do you engage with the enlightened and get with the survivors, nay the thrivers, for the next decade? Well, not surprisingly that is what many of my talks and work with global leading companies are all about. So when one of the most successful CEO’s challenged me to write something that would light the fire of those still gripped by fear I stepped up. Watch the two minute video and download the FREE book , and then join us on the journey.
Do you feel like you are being drowned by jargon? Grammarly recently researched the most popular phrases used in the work context and the list includes these gems…
Low Hanging Fruit
Leverage (do you leverage leverage?)
Open the Kimono (that is creepy, sexist and racist all at the same time!)
Giving 110% (which of course you can’t)
Learnings (what were yours last year?)
Out of Pocket (who’s pocket were you in and why?!)
Drink the Kool-Aid
Bio break (too much information)
You can review the full article and more of the same here.
Here is a great article on the same theme, published in New York’s ‘Vulture’ highlighting just one office workers experience:
