16 Dec
Excellence Can Happen
A major dilemma in our day-to-day experiences is that we all want to be effective at whatever we are doing. Few of us start our days saying “I am going to do a lousy job today,” I am going to be a lousy parent today,” or “I am going to make my day miserable.” However, many times our aspirations, goals, efforts, etc. become frustrated. Two diverse examples of excellence illustrate how it can be achieved.
An article in Fortune Magazine on the most powerful women in business (October 13, 2008) illustrates how people are achieving excellence. Only 2 of the women were over 60 years old but 20 were under 50 and 3 under 40. The article emphasizes the intelligence, skills and networking of these leaders. In other words the authoritative , “good old boy” work your way up executive is being replaced with the people with superb capabilities and the ability to bring people together to achieve success.
The most interesting aspect is where they work. In general, they are more prevalent in consumer products, health and the internet than the economy as a whole. This may be a caused by growing industries that are more open to women. However, they are also more prevalent in heading up key groups such as international or technology than traditional business executives. Fifteen of them are in untraditional or emerging companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Harpo and TJX. These women simply seek out and take advantage of opportunities in exciting environments rather being held back in more traditional companies like autos, manufacturing or banks.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the experience of many companies in creating excellent customer service. While many consumers complain about poor quality, “I got you,” return polices, unhelpful agents, delays etc. there are some companies that have built their reputations on excellent customer service. Land’s End, Ritz Carlton Hotels, Nordstrom and L.L.Bean are prominent examples. There are several common factors in these diverse companies that illustrate the components of excellence:
- The first aspect is a commitment to excellent customer service that pervades their statements and execution throughout the organization.
- What is sometimes missed is the impact the commitment has throughout the companies in developing excellent practices. In order to offer unlimited returns you need to exercise excellent quality. Service companies like Nordstrom and Ritz Carlton both recruit and train staff to be excellent. Companies like Google offer sales and analytical tools to help clients achieve better results.
- Excellent and empowered people are a requirement for excellence in customer service. Most consumers are honest and if companies are preoccupied with the few cheaters, they will not satisfy many legitimate complaints. In contrast empowering employees both encourages satisfied customers and motivates employees that they can experience success.
- Finally, excellent customer service involves respect. Many of these jobs are repetitive and stressful. However, training, rewards and simple recognition provide pride and performance in these functions. One of the most useful efforts I experienced was having general management listen in on customer service phone calls.
It is not impossible to achieve excellence. It just takes careful planning, awareness, and execution.
