When Life Is Chaos! May 24, 2011
Posted by wooddickinson in Change, Hope, Systems Thinking.Tags: AT&T, Business, Charge card, Credit card, Customer, Customer service, Digital Subscriber Line, fear, Feedback, hope, Philosophy, Politics, Proactivity, Professional, retail, Retail Trade, Social Sciences, United States, Washington, Wood Dickinson
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It’s really funny (or aggravating) when life decides to take a detour from where you think you are going. I’m in the middle of a huge detour right now. These trials are upsetting and aggravating primarily because you think you have a handle on life and a focus on what you want to create and how to do it. Then life happens. Out of your control some system or person decides to throw you into chaos. Like when I came to work the other day and I turn on my computer only to find my DSL line from AT&T was suspended with a message telling me to call them now!
My world grinds to a halt as I wait on hold for 30 minutes. When I get a person I ask what the frozen DSL line and nasty message are all about. She, in the best of self-righteous ways, tells me I haven’t paid my bill and if I would like to take care of that she could help me and unfreeze my DSL line. It took all the patients I had not to take this woman’s head off. I counted to 10 then asked her, “Didn’t you receive a check?” She tells me to hold and clicks off. A dangerous thing to have happen after a 30 minute hold time. She clicks back on sounding meek and not nearly as self-righteous. She said, “Yes, I have a check for xxx amount and your current balance is xxx and everything is just fine. She will get my DSL back up and have a nice day.” Click.
This is what is passing for customer service these days. I have had Shell call me telling me I’m so past due and they want a credit card number now. Oh sure, I just give anyone who calls all my credit card information. I asked for statements to be mailed to me so he asked what my account number was (now he called me) and since I don’t use gas cards I said I didn’t have a clue. What came next just blew me away. Suddenly I didn’t have an account with Shell. This was the most confusing call. I asked how I could owe anything if I don’t have an account? He didn’t know and hung up.
One of the best calls I experienced was one I made. I was going over a credit card bill and noticed a charge for AAA auto club. I can’t remember ever signing up for that. Currently I drive a Mercedes and it comes with roadside assistants. I called the number listed on the bill and got a marvelous customer service lady. I said that there was a charge from AAA and I never order it so I want it off my bill. She began to argue with me that I did order it. It was an automatic renewal. I just love auto renewals because it is near impossible to get them stopped. Finally I asked when the charge was started. She said 1985 so I told her I wanted a refund from 1985 to the present for all the AAA charges. She hug up on me!
Now that just doesn’t work on me. I called them right back. Of course I got a different person and this guy was very nice and helpful. The last lady had removed the charge after she hung up on me. I told this gentleman what my experience had just been and he was very sorry, took an incident report and promised it would be taken care of. We parted friends.
Citi Corp calls day and night because I’m past due on my bill for $8. They spent more than $8 collecting that debt. These companies are so reactive now that they alone can create a lot of chaos which in the end does them more damage than good. A sign of the times I guess.
I understand people are hurting now. I’m one of those people. I don’t care what Washington keeps saying this “economic recovery” seems very unreal. This is a time for compassion and looking for ways to put together deals with customers that help the company get paid and doesn’t over burden the customer or charge an exorbitant interest rate. But do they do that? No. Conflict is what they like and the customer feels shame at being in this position and the company doesn’t have a clue that when you shame a person you have just hurt yourself as well. The person shamed will either strike out at them or strike out at himself. Both actions have negative consequences for the company.
And so it goes. Business in the 21st century…
Why Learning is Important November 5, 2010
Posted by wooddickinson in Change, consulting, executive leadership, Systems Thinking.Tags: Business, change, Company, Consulting, fear, Feedback, Future, North Face, retail, Retail Trade, systems thinking, Think, Wood Dickinson
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I have people ask me what I mean when I say Learning Organization. Everyone feels like they learn every day but I ask you to stop and think about it. Does your organization allow teams to fail? Does your organization examine the actual systemic forces acting on it? Does your organization capture information useful across team lines and store it and share it in a truly useful way?
Usually the answer to these questions is no but why should I care what other teams are doing? If you haven’t noticed we are living in chaotic times. Jobs seem iffy, company survival is being tested to its fullest. If there ever was a period of uncertain times, chaotic change and second guessing going on I don’t know when its been. Not in my lifetime.
With the workforce of companies shrinking due to uncertainty employees are being asked to shoulder more responsibility which brings with it a greater chance at failure and ultimately unemployment. This is why you care about ALL the teams. We are in this together and I don’t mean just organizations in isolation. Wholesalers must talk to store owners who must talk with manufacturers so a complete picture can be gained and knee jerk reactions minimized.
The best way to do this is to delve into systems. Learn what is really going on. Look at what the principle stock is then what are the balancing feedback loops and what’s in the reinforcing feedback loops. You need to identify the driving variables so the shifting dominance in the system can be studied.
Dynamic systems research doesn’t predict the future it explores what might happen. This gives you valuable information that will affect decision-making. When all teams are working this way and you extend the systems out toward all companies that have an impact on your product or service then everyone learns what may be coming and can make better use of what little time we have to do the right things.
This sounds oh so difficult but it isn’t really. A systems thinker can look at a situation and from even a small amount of data make predictions of what might happen if the organization keeps to its current course without regard to the systems operating around it.
I saw a situation unfold in one North Face retail store that spoke volumes to me. From the limited information I had I predicted trouble was coming. I could tell they didn’t understand retail operations and were making choices based on personal loyalty regardless of what the store employees were telling the company. They completely failed at delving into systems having an impact on retail operations and I saw failure in their future with the closing of all retail outlets with in five years.
North Face makes a tremendous product but they need to leave selling it to outfitter and other retail operations that know what they are doing. The environment that has been created in their own retail stores is one which has pitted floor employees against management. No learning going on here. Check them out and see where North Face is a year from now.
Just think about it. We are all in this together. There’s enough competition without creating more with in the walls of your own company.
