O Captain my Captain...
One of my favorite movies to watch is a movie called Dead Poets Society. One of our truly great actors in my lifetime, Robin Williams, performed his role masterfully as a young teacher who challenged the establishment with his out-of-the-box thinking and teaching methods.
One of the more compelling scenes in the movie was when Mr Keating (Williams) challenged his students, as he stood on his desk looking out over the room, to constantly look for opportunities to see life from a different point of view than the norm, to challenge the status quo and opportunity to be complacent. He had each student climb up on the desk and stop and look out over the room as well to see things differently than they were use to. It was a valuable lesson, and is the point of the story below.
I had a wonderful conversation this week with a friend of mine, a business owner, about this same topic. We will call him Bob. Bob just recently bought an auto repair shop business that is established, and in a busy area with a great location. One of the things that Bob wanted to accomplish right away was to change the culture of customer service within the business. There are many shops around the area and Bob knows that how his employees treat those that come through the door will determine the fate of his business.
So Bob wanted to do an experiment. He knew what he wanted to accomplish, and also knew what existed for his customers as they walked in his front door. But Bob wanted to see how others did it. He wanted to see what customer experience existed was when someone with a car problem walked in the front door of one of the "big boys" and their big boy marketing and training budgets.
So he visited two national chains and he learned quite a bit by walking in both. One provided exceptional service while the other was less impressive. There is a reason the "big boys" spend the money they do on the training of their front line employees, and Bob knew that. It is often said that if you want success, find someone who has achieved success in the field that you are pursuing and copy them. Some of his findings he will incorporate into his shop's culture.
Bob knew he needed to look at things from the customers point of view. He needed to be able to be in the customers shoes and understand how it feels to be at the mercy of the expert on the other side of the counter. Because he "climbed up on the desk" and saw things from a different perspective, he has found new ways of making his shop better. Kudos to Bob for his foresight and vision. Seize the Day Bob!
Mike
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Hi Mike. snif' snif'-wow man it smells good in here. ;-)
I guess my fave is "Patch Adams",I liked DPS too.
Stay (+) Positive brother, don't let the "NIOPs" get to ya. J
LOL...Thanks Jon! Been around too long and seen too much for much to phase me at this point. Onward and Upward my friend!
Mike
Mike, lets do some constructive contrafactual ( “What-If” ) analysis of your Post.
What are the ‘Nuggets’ contained within the Post… The ‘Takeaways’ for the readers?:
- challenge the norm with 'out-of-the-box' thinking & methods
- look for opportunities to see from a different point of view
- challenge the status quo
- change the culture of the process
- find someone who has achieved success and copy them
- NOW for The Constructive Contrafactual (“What-Ifs”):
- “What-If” the author included a summary of the ‘Nuggets’
- “What-If” there was a ‘HOW To Apply” for each ‘Nugget’
- “What-If” there was a ‘WHY’ for applying the ’Nuggets’
- “What-If” the author looked at it from the readers point of view
- “What-If” the reader was told what to do next
- “What-If” the post didn’t stop (midstream) before a conclusion
- “What-If” the reader didn’t feel like being ‘all dressed-up’ without knowing ‘Why’ or ‘Where’ To Go Next.
Who-What-When-Where-Why-What-if & How are good Questions.
Just saying…
WallyWiki
Great business approach, to understand and truly experience what it is like to be your customers. BTW, I am still grieving the loss of Robin Williams. What an amazing talent we were blessed to have know. Although a great comedic talent, my favorites were his more serious roles.
Agreed! He was maybe the most talented person I had ever seen. Thanks for your feedback!
Mike
Thanks Mike,
"To see life from a different point of view" To me that is the quintessence of what it means to be a thinking human being and to be capable of exercising the skill of empathy....something the world is very short on at the moment!
Kind regards
~Arthur
Great point Arthur! We can try to change that attitude of the world one perception at a time, can't we? What else do we have to do that is that important? Thanks for your feedback.
Mike
That is an awesome movie! And the lessons taught in it are invaluable! I am so happy for your friend that he had the foresight to seek the understanding that will help his business to flourish! Blessings , Christa
This is great! We have to do the same thing with our websites. If we look at our work from the viewpoint of the reader, we will better be able to offer what they want. By treating our readers with respect and the knowledge that, without them, we can not be successful. Wonderful post!
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Very true. I am reminded of the saying "where you stand determines what you see".
All the best,
Brandon
Interesting quote...can I use that in the future? Thanks Brandon!
Mike