Maybe this global slap on the side of our collective heads is just what we need? Maybe we have been numb for too long? Maybe it IS time to take a closer look at business as usual?
For years now retailers have been gradually changing the size of their offerings while keeping the prices the same or higher. One could call this a clever response to a tough situation. But when that practice shifts into patently deceptive, like recessed bottoms on yogurt containers, one has to also consider the intent. Are we as consumers that pathetic that we can’t deal with rising costs more honestly so we reward these tactics for keeping us blissfully ignorant? Maybe this is not an indictment about us or them, but a mirror for us to notice what we are them, and the kinds of stewards of the world that we have become?
It seems to me that long ago we stopped having conversations that reflected connection and caring. We settled instead for this “us and them” relationship and accepted a role as consumers instead of partners. And now we get crazy about the abuse of this power that we so eagerly relinquished. Retailers are deceiving us. Customer service is a joke. CEOs come up with new levels of greedy and immoral behavior. And we act helpless and take no responsibility for what we have colluded to create.
I guess I shouldn’t complain. It’s good news for me. Everything I do as an executive coach and consultant for organizations is now in vogue. Authenticity is in. It’s become a competitive advantage. Building relationships that are meaningful might be worth something now. Imagine a company where people were thoughtful about what they did, made the requests they really needed to make, made promises they intended to keep, new perspectives were valued and solicited, there was earnest conversation about what people cared about? Imagine what a company could do if they connected with their employees and constituents and really engaged about what win-wins looked like? Imagine a company so transparent that it would be unheard of for a CEO to buy $26,000 chairs to decorate his office? Imagine a world where such transgressions that shock us wouldn’t happen because we were all watching and transparency, caring, a sense of ownership and accountability prevailed? “It’s OUR company and that’s NOT OK!”
As an executive coach I have frequently found myself asking leaders at all levels what might seem like very basic questions that stopped them in their tracks. We don’t ask the questions begging to be asked like low hanging fruit. We stopped being curious and stick only to what we know. We equate exchanges of data with real conversations, which we don’t have time for. We stopped caring and connecting. We call it work and leave the best of us at home for the hours that remain. I once told my brother that made no sense. As Shakespeare said, “work is your love made visible”. He replied “no, that’s why they call it work, stupid!”.
I realized that my brother held the majority view. But oddly enough, in the sacred space of a coaching relationship, my clients invariably confide in me what they truly yearn for. And it’s to be truly engaged in life, to feel alive and make a difference. To be self-expressed. To realize their potential. To do meaningful work. To be a part of something bigger than themselves. Usually in retirement if they make it that far.
So I say, OK, if customer service is the new competitive advantage, why not design companies built for this:
- It’s OK to voice dissent, be acknowledged, have a conversation and then make commitments you really care to keep. You no longer need to be concerned about which yeses mean yes and which are really no.
- There is a welcoming space for new ideas to be acknowledged or considered. You are actually a part of what you’re at work for.
- Your unique gifts and talents don’t need to be hidden away or left at home or in the parking lot. We build on and capitalize on people’s gifts rather than focus on deficiencies.
- Teams are distinguished from work groups comprised of individuals with their own agendas (“I did my part now you do yours”). Teams have common goals they care about and members help each other in the service of that. The ball does not get dropped.
- Multiple perspectives are honored and agreement is not confused as truth.
- Learning is part of the culture, not just knowing answers. We can innovate and not only stick to what we know, even when it no longer serves.
- People are encouraged and empowered to think and engage, rather than continue to implement policies that may no longer make sense. There is a sense of connection and ownership.
This people orientation used to be called “the soft skills.” One CEO client calls them “the important skills.” I’m an idealist but not naive. There is always a shadow side. Not everyone wants to care. Not everyone will handle such trust well. But that’s what life is about. Like in any relationship, you can strip away trust, caring, commitment and conversation in favor of compliance, function and certainty. You sacrifice, at the least, sustainability. And you create a world that can be managed, but it is small and without life. And it denies the unique capacity we as human beings have been granted to imagine and create what has never existed before.
Maybe the next headline will read: “New competitive advantage: integrate humanity back into business and care again.”
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