Allow dissenting voice in meetings, especially around strategic discussions and direction. If dissent doesn’t define this idea clearly, call it “allowing opposing viewpoints.” Some will say “I’m playing the devil’s advocate for a moment.” Phrasing aside, I find it good to appoint someone to state the “cons”, to point out the roadblocks, to take the opposite view, to articulate the worst case scenario. I’m not always excited about the opposing view. In fact for many years I didn’t think it necessary to hear, nor did I advocate for it. It made me uncomfortable. It still does at times. This is good. It allows freedom for all to vent their perspective and be heard. Collaboration in decision making wins. I’ve made many mistakes alone or in isolated decisions. Again, collaboration wins. Dissent and opposing viewpoints are one key part of that process. All stakeholders must voice input. In the end, the leader makes the decision, but it’s harder to make the wrong one when all the facts are on the table and we are fully informed.
Shared Reality
Track with me on this…
My business or domain, my reality
Your business or domain, your reality
Our mutual (together) business (work), our “shared” reality
Businesses working together (B2B) need to work in a SHARED REALITY space
If everything is done on one or the others terms, then there’s a one-sided reality. That can create tension, or worse, set up an opportunity for failure.
This has a strong impact on the working relationship
That’s why CONTRACTS MATTER.
We want to drive toward as mutual of a space as we possibly can, and it should be represented in the contract terms and conditions
As much as possible, we should seek agreements that set up for a win-win scenario.
I am to provide the client value in accordance with certain defined terms and deliverables or products. The client provides me with reasonable terms and conditions for value received
And if there’s a relationship, this should be easy. If there’s value expressed, it should be easy.
The shared reality space, the space in the overlapping circles, the closing of the gap, the intersection of the lines, that’s the space to seek. In that space lies the best opportunity for success. There’s potential for the stuff of greatness in that space.
Customer Experience
It was the jeans that triggered it.
You see, they were the exact same jeans that I had on as I walked into the store. The same jeans I bought there 6 months ago. And I love these jeans.
So the pair I grabbed off the shelf, the exact same color, size, make, model, when I pulled them on, they didn’t fit over my thighs in the dressing room. What? I double checked the size and shape. No difference.
“Perhaps they aren’t marked correctly, I said to myself.”
So I asked the sales attendant if he can help. I ask if I’ve made a mistake.
“Nope, he says. This happens all the time. You see we recommend you grab 3 or 4 pair at a time when you’re trying them on. They’re made in like, 50 or 60 different countries so you never know what you are going to get.”
Great response. Glad you don’t sell for me.
He’s doing a poor job at customer experience management and selling. Plus, he’s saying that they aren’t making jeans with consistent size patterns based on the country where they are assembled. Either way, both the salesperson and the manufacturer are doing a terrible job of designing experience. No thank you. I don’t expect to have to grab 3 or 4 pair of jeans to see if one or more of them, the exact same size, actually fit. I don’t care what country they are made in or what their supply chain logistics look like. Once I find a pair of jeans that works, I expect they will all be close to the same size EVERY TIME. I don’t want to play “roll-the-jeans-dice.”
This company is providing a negative and inconsistent experience when it comes to sales, and product QA/QC.
I quickly placed the jeans back on the shelf and slipped quietly out of the store. I wasn’t in the mood to manage my shopping experience through trial and error.
So what about your company? What about my company? I know different clients can have different experiences even though they all are “shopping” at our place, in different offices, and different ends of the building. How consistent of an experience am I creating? How am I making it easy on the client? How are my colleagues and people representing our services to buyers, prospective clients, and observers? Do our people know what to say and how to say it? Have they been trained in the “why of our business?” Is our product the same EVERY SINGLE TIME?
Even in professional services it’s not uncommon for clients who’ve had a negative experience to quietly slip away; to place the jeans on the shelf and never return. Do everything possible to prevent this from happening.
JOHN L WHEATON BLOG 