“Feedback is the breakfast of champions” is a quote often credited to Ken Blanchard, who is an author, speaker, management expert, and business consultant. I thought this would be a great quote to build on in today’s blog post.
As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! (You do know that, right?!) Without a good breakfast, you won’t have the energy to get through the day! Likewise, without feedback, the organization starves. It operates in a vacuum, and cannot improve, adapt, or evolve.
I don’t have to preach about the need to gather feedback. As I mentioned in my last post, 98% of organizations collect feedback. And there is no lack of listening posts or sources of feedback: there are solicited (e.g., surveys) and unsolicited (e.g., social media) channels, with structured and unstructured feedback.
Where I do need to continue to preach is on how that feedback is used. Think about this: If you don’t fuel your body in the morning, you’ll pass out by mid-day. (Well, I know I will… probably long before mid-day!) If you don’t take that feedback you’ve collected — or that has been sent to you, unsolicited — and socialize, analyze, strategize, and operationalize it, (a) you’re missing out on some great opportunities and (b) you will eventually fail.
I always tell my clients that getting used to reviewing and acting on your feedback is like having your morning cup of coffee. If you think of it that way, you’ll review it and respond to it every morning, just like with your email. Make it part of your routine, and get addicted!
Listen
Act
Close the Loop
Evolve
So, eat your breakfast… drink your coffee… and do great things! Be a customer experience champion!
