January 22, 2019
Keeping it simple
When creating a checklist like the one I described yesterday, it’s tempting to dive into lots of detail and try … Read More “Keeping it simple”
Category: Systems Thinking
January 10, 2019
Consistency
Whatever you’re promising your prospects, it isn’t just about the technicals of what you do, it’s also about how you do it, and that needs to be carried through into every experience
November 26, 2018
Paying is part of the experience
I vividly remember the butterflies in my stomach as I handed over the cash. It was a lot of money to pay for a book – £40, when a paperback cost less than £1.
Would it be worth it? Would I regret it? What were the other people in the shop thinking of me as the assistant handed it to me, here in this ‘insider’ shop, catering to the trade?
They were oblivious of course, but for me, buying this book was my initiation into the world of fashion designers and insiders, the people who go deeper than the weekly magazines or even Vogue. Handing over what my friends and colleagues saw as an obscene amount of money for a book was an essential part of that experience.
If, like many small businesses, you see payment as an add-on, a bit of admin you’d rather put off, you’re depriving your client of the chance to relive the reasons they agreed to buy from you, diminishing their experience and in the process, subtly de-valuing what you’ve given them.
If paying is part of the experience, then taking payment is part of the service and that means it should be an integral part of your process.
November 2, 2018
Complexity
How do you eat an elephant?
“One bite at a time!”
“From a very early age, we are taught to break apart problems, to fragment the world. This apparently makes complex tasks and subjects more manageable, but we pay a hidden enormous price. We can no longer see the consequences of our actions; we lose our intrinsic sense of connection to a larger whole.” – Peter M. Senge “The Fifth Discipline”
If you only look at your business in bitesize chunks, you’re likely to miss the elephant in the room.