Shifting a Paradigm
In the summer of 2009 I had a MOMENT OF TRUTH. A moment that changed the direction of my life forever.
I was in New York City with a colleague. Brad and I were at a rooftop bar waiting to meet a few people before heading over to a networking event. I was enjoying (as you can only do in NYC) a $15 beer. I noticed a guy sitting on his own for over 20 minutes. It was obvious that he was waiting for someone. I struck up a conversation about waiting by offering my standard line:
“Do you know that we spend 10% of our life waiting?”
Can you imagine that we spend roughly 2.4 hours a day waiting? I mention this when I speak to large groups and most people nod in agreement. Some say that’s not even close to enough.
[Well, let’s set the record straight. It’s true because I once read it on the internet]
Back to the story. This guy laughed and we started talking about waiting and the importance of being on time. I said,
“Well, obviously your friend is not on time.”
Right then this guy looked at me strangely and said something that a MOMENT OF TRUTH [a true ‘knock you in your tracks’ Tyler Durden from Fight Club moment].
Dikembe Finger Wag “NO”
I’ll paraphase it:
“There is no such thing as being on time. Being on time is a fallacy. You either are early . . . or you are late. No one is ever on time. Being on time is a myth.”
I immediately starting thinking about how this applies to business and the idea of meeting expectations. I’ve always thought the idea of meeting expectations is a surefire recipe for losing business. It’s similar to playing prevent defense in football . . . the only thing it does is prevent you from winning.
This new paradigm has only made it clearer for me. Meeting expectations is a myth. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and Meeting Expectations. Sorry kids . . . they are all myths.
You either fall below expectations or you exceed them. It bears repeating:
There is no such thing as meeting expectations
In a world where nearly 80% of customers describe their customer satisfaction as satisfied or very satisfied before going on to defect to other brands, ‘meeting expectations’ is no longer an option.
The Solution:
Make it a practice to always overdeliver. Find ways to give a little extra, by finding your purple, green or golden goldfish. Simply set your bar higher than the expectations of your customers and employees. Provide a little something extra for good measure. Your goal should be to strive to bring unique value to the customer. Never settle for being seen as a “commodity.”
Are you standing out in a “sea of sameness?“
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra for good measure) – If you haven’t seen Fight Club, here’s the movie in 15 minutes. The Tyler Durden WTF moment happens about 11 minutes in:
