Do you know the 12 Laws of Karma? And did you know they can be applied daily to your customer experience efforts?
If not, no worries. Read on, and I’ll define them for you and tie them to this CX world we live in.
I came across them recently and thought that these made sense – for life and for your customer experience.
It’s interesting that we always associate karma with bad things, i.e., payback for something bad someone did. But it’s also associated with good things. “We reap what we sow” is a common way of thinking about it. What goes around, comes around. You get what you give. In a way, it reminded me of the golden rule: treat others the way you’d want to be treated.
In two of his YouTube videos, Hans Wilhelm explains that karma is the law that brings back the results of all the thoughts, words, and actions to the person performing them – just like a boomerang, they sooner or later come back to us with the same force or similar effect or result.
Let’s take a look at the 12 Laws. I used various sources for different thoughts and perspectives on what the Laws themselves mean, including Power of Positivity and David Wolfe.
Law 1: The Great Law
Also known as the Law of Cause and Effect, this law refers to the concept of reaping what you sow. Our thoughts and actions have consequences, both good and bad. What you put out into the universe will come back to you.
CX connection: Quite simply, if companies treat customers well, then customers will return in spades: through loyalty, advocacy, and more.
Law 2: The Law of Creation
What we focus on is what we create. In order to make things happen, we need to make them happen; they don’t happen by themselves.
CX connection: In order to make things happen in the the CX world, we know that we, as CX professionals, need to make them happen. We need to drive the bus. We have lofty goals. Have you seen the six customer experience performance domains? Yea. Lots to do. Get started. Make sure you’ve got the basics down first, starting with executive commitment. You’ve got this.
Law 3: The Law of Humility
One must accept something in order to change it. Accept what is; let go of what was; and make changes toward what will be.
CX connection: In order to accept, companies need to understand. They can only change what they understand; they need to understand who, why, what, how. They need to understand what’s going well and what’s not going well. Accept these things and change them to what they ought to be, to what matters most to their customers.
Law 4: The Law of Growth
“Wherever you go, there you are.” If we want to grow, we – not the people or things around us – need to change. We can only control ourselves. When we change who and what we are, our lives follow suit and change, too.
CX connection: Leaders need to change their thinking. They need to accept that the purpose of a business is not to maximize shareholder value but to create and nurture a customer. Let others think and do what they want, but they need to make the customer the reason. Acknowledging this allows them to move the CX strategy and, hence, the business forward.
Law 5: The Law of Responsibility
Our lives are of our own doing. We need to take responsibility for our own lives.
CX connection: Companies can’t blame others for the situation they’re in. Don’t focus on competitors and what they’re doing or what we think they’ve done to your customers, the industry, etc.; focus on your customers and what their needs are, what they’re trying to achieve. Then innovate, don’t imitate. Innovate, don’t be the next Blockbuster or Kodak.
Law 6: The Law of Connection
Everything in the universe is connected. Each step leads to the next step. The past, present, and future are all connected; if we want something different, we need to change the connections. Neither the first step nor the last are of greater significance. They are both needed to accomplish the task.
CX connection: Naturally, if we’re talking about a step leading to the next step, I’m going to bring up the need to map your customer journey, walk in your customers’ shoes, understand his steps to do some job. If you want to redesign the experience, you need to map it, understand the current state, identify the ideal future state, and redesign to that future state. Similarly, understanding those first and last impressions and how they happen is important; as the law states, they are both needed to accomplish a task, and, executed well, lead to great things for the business.
Law 7: The Law of Focus
We can only focus on one thing at a time. We need to direct full attention to achieve a single task.
CX connection: Set your vision, and let that be your north star. Set strategy based on that vision – and execute. Stay focused on the vision. When you lose focus, you do things you shouldn’t be doing and often forget why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Law 8: The Law of Giving and Hospitality
What we believe must manifest into our actions. Selflessness shows our intentions.
CX connection: This is a reminder that actions speak louder than words. If you claim it, you need to do it, deliver on it. What’s your brand promise? You set expectations with it – are you delivering on them?
Law 9: The Law of Here and Now
If we keep looking backward, we cannot be present, in the present. Focusing on what happened in the past keeps us from moving forward.
CX connection: While it’s important to understand history, learn from your mistakes, and make sure you don’t repeat them. What you really need to do is understand the current state first and then translate that to the ideal future state.
Law 10: The Law of Change
Unless we change, history will repeat itself.
CX connection: This is similar to Law 9 in many ways, but as Albert Einstein said: We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Law 11: The Law of Patience and Reward
Rewards of lasting value require patience, persistence, and hard work. Joy comes from doing what we’re supposed to be doing; the reward will come in due time.
CX connection: Focus on the customer experience. Do the work. Get executive and organizational commitment. Shift the culture to one that puts people first. Then reap the rewards: employees will come – and stay; customers will come – and stay; and the business will grow.
Law 12: The Law of Significance and Inspiration
We get back what we put into it. The value and the rewards you reap are direct results of the energy and intent that you put into it.
CX connection: Improve the employee experience to improve the customer experience. Create a people-focused culture, one where the human experience is put above all else. Decisions are made based on what’s best for people, in general. Again, do the work, but do it right and for the right reasons. And the outcomes for employees, customers, and the business will be equal to – and worth – the effort.
I took a bit of liberty in tying the 12 Laws of Karma to the world of customer experience, but I don’t think it was too much of a stretch. And I think many of them are repetitive or reinforce the same principles: You truly do reap what you sow. Your actions will result in equal actions being returned to you. Be good to your employees and to your customers, and they’ll be good to you.
Seems simple enough.
How people treat you is their karma. How you react is yours. -Wayne Dyer
