Review of “To Create Something Exceptional, Do Sweat The Small Stuff”
One of the places I go to get inspiration for articles is the publication, Fast Company, as I like to be challenged by new ways of thinking and trends on the horizon. In perusing their on-line edition a few weeks ago, I came across an article I thought I would comment on for my readership. The article was written by Box CEO Aaron Levie, and it is entitled: "To Create Something Exceptional, Do Sweat The Small Stuff" I have taken twelve points that I thought to be important, from the article to high-light and on which to provide comments.
1. The wrong thinking that "The implied wisdom is that abstract and conceptual thinking always prevails over narrow determination and single-mindedness”:
I have to battle my own tendencies in this area. I have always been very abstract as well as being a conceptual thinker. Those traits, left untamed, do not lead to the focused determination that one needs to get a bunch of tasks completed that delve into the essentials so that others can really grasp what you are communicating. I have learned to focus upon those things where I am gifted because then I have the drive to not only have the big picture, but also the endurance to place the nuts and bolts to hold it together.
2. Greatest success always comes down to tireless concern over every last detail
It may not pay well for an accountant to spend an hour trying to find a dollar. However, if one is trying to create an experience for others to interact with in our consumer technology driven culture, it pays to focus on the details if you want people to continually come back.
Being a forty-something, I will readily admit there are twenty year olds far ahead of me in technological and media savvy. I will state however that I recently ordered a dvd series that mirrored a course I took a number of years ago to see if that might be a good tool for my church. After sitting down and reviewing a couple of episodes of it, however, I was quite disappointed as I saw it was very technologically out-of-date and seriously questioned its ability to connect with people around the age of 25, when it even bored me to watch it. As it concerns media, what are people accustomed to watching today and how do they consume what they spend time on? If you are making a dvd that you want a significant portion of consumers to watch, you had better ensure it meets the consumer expectations of a twenty year old. Ask yourself if this product, service or experience is congruent with what your customer is used to. Have you considered every point or objection they might raise? Do you care more about connecting with them than impressing them? Hopefully you WILL impress them, but you need to remember that people like to be made to feel that they are special and unique.
3. Stamp out of your vocabulary phrases such as "This is good enough" or "Customers won't notice"
Some of you recall that after you received the first edition of City State Journal, I asked you to critique the site and offer suggestions. Some of you did that and I greatly appreciate it and attempted to put some changes into effect on design and links as per suggestions. Even with that, I still receive questions about where articles are and so I know I need to make further changes so as to make things clearer.
In my business sometimes we talk about how the customer is paying for a 95% effort and it is not worth our money to devote the extra amount of time to the additional 5% as we will lose on the project if we do. That principle doesn’t always apply though, particularly when it comes to the user experience with the product, service or experience. If a customer has time for one experience and you provide a decent one whereas your competition provides an awesome one, they will go to your competition.
Your product/service/experience is never good enough. Somebody out there will always be competing with you and trying to best you in the market. You should never stop improving, growing or thinking about how you can improve your business offerings.
4. Ultimately our service is being consumed on that granular level that is being ignored - what are the interfaces from which customers experience your brand?
What are those things that you don’t see as it relates to your product, service or experience? Those who have been to my annual Christmas dinner party that I have thrown since 2004 know that I like to cook a number of dishes for around 40-50 people. Oftentimes I received raves about some of the dishes that were prepared and the fact that people enjoyed their time there. Since I have been married, my wife has assisted in helping these functions come off with more polish. I am definitely highly creative and can think of a number of ideas but she has an eye for the administration and tasks and can enable the loose ends to be tied down well.
An example I will use is someone might have come to one of my parties when I was single and thought, “Hmm, the food is pretty good, but that kitchen sure is a mess.” For them, the experience of seeing a lot of chaos in the kitchen possibly detracted from their enjoyment of the food and fellowship of the evening. Another individual at that very same party might be someone who doesn’t even think about kitchen issues but likes to go into social interactions where they are not conversing with the same clique every time. My wife’s and my Christmas dinner parties now are comprised of individuals from at least five different major groups. Some people appreciate the subtle factor of meeting new people.there.
5. With the Internet, the quality of these interactions is more important than ever before.
The way a twenty year old interacts with media is far different than the way a sixty year old does. If you want to be successful in many of your endeavors you have to realize and embrace the future youth of the market and make them your friends so that they will help finance your life in old age.
6. The small things have a disproportionate impact on customers' feelings
I had to serve jury duty one day last fall, a task I, and countless other Americans, go and do but do not necessarily look forward to. I spent the morning sitting in one courtroom hearing the preliminaries to a case, and answering questions along with the other jurors to determine our fitness to serve on the case. I was not selected and was able to leave about 12:30 to go about my business. I didn’t think much about it until about a week later I received a thank you note in the mail from the presiding judge for my jury service that day. I was actually quite impressed to have received that, and it resulted in a small sliver of good will in my mind going toward the role of jury service. It doesn’t mean I will look forward to the next opportunity, but at least I will know that one particular judge cared enough to actually thank the citizens who came.
7. Many of the greater experiences do not come with a higher price tag but just a greater level of attention to the details
I liken this to a customer who goes to a mom and pop store in their neighborhood for getting a practical service done, whether it is getting a pair of shoes re-soled, getting a pair of pants altered by the immigrant tailor, or walking into the neighborhood coffee and chocolate shop to purchase something from the neighborhood mom who decided to open up her specialty coffee house. You are dealing with people who take pride in the craftsmanship of their product or service and therefore are working tirelessly to perfect their craft. They are artisans who are trying to make a living who oftentimes can provide a more personal and special experience for the customer than the high end retailer at the mall whose pricing is driven more by corporate policy.
8. The combination of an insane attention to these details and neurotic level of focus on customer experience in all areas is what sets apart the great companies from the good
I will use a reference to Walt Disney here http://jlwatsonconsulting.typepad.com/my-blog/2010/12/walt-disney-world-has-built-a-customer-experience-command-center.html There are three points the article high-lights that are important: (a) Have a simple and clear mission that everyone can understand and act upon; (b) Use real-time data to monitor and manage the Customer Experience, and have specific plans to act on the data; (c) Align the experience with financial objectives.
9. It should be everyone's responsibility to push for a higher standard and level of experience
I have a board that helps me in decisions relating to my nonprofit corporation. I also have a very intelligent wife who lends her expertise to me on a number of matters. I am not afraid of surrounding myself with intelligent people as I know that they will help me get to where I want to go in life. I also have accountability from men who push me to a higher standard than that which I might be tempted to settle for. The world is full of mediocrity from the government through business, education and even the churches. All of us need to be trendsetters instead of responders.
10. To sweat the small stuff means to be uncompromising about anything that affects the quality of a product or experience for customers
We can’t be a jack of all trades regarding everything in life, but we are all good at something. Taking those one or two things and being extremely meticulous about perfecting them to a level where they are superior for a group who is your potential customer base is what gets you to a point where you have something worthy of offering in the marketplace.
11. Instead of asking "What is best for the customer?" ask "What will blow our customers' minds?"
We see those start-ups in every industry that pounce on the stage and grab a certain amount of market share. Some offer an entirely new way of doing things that their competitors are not doing. It might be a shifting of the paradigm instead of just doing something a bit better than the other guy.
12. If you don't seem paranoid about perfection, you're probably not aiming high enough
I have to communicate to myself now that I am a player on the world stage and as such as long as I am desiring to actively be an influencer, I must be continually learning, growing, and doing the other things I need to do to sharpen my mental acuity. There will be many things I will never be very good at doing, but there are those things I can aim to be phenomenal in what I am doing for the market that I am trying to reach. That is where I need to be spending my time.
The Deep Well of Nitpickiness
Posted: June 1, 2012 by Chuck DeShazo
