Starting is easy finishing strong is harder

Starting is easy finishing strong is harder



I was listening to a pastor over the weekend and something he said caught my attention more than usual and it got me to churning the grey matter, the gist of the thoughts were "it is easy to get an idea to build a company around, but to continue can be a lot harder ". I mulled over the last five start ups I have worked for and the others that I have mentored lately, it came through strong and clear again as (I wrote in my early blog entries) you need to have a deep passion for what you do to be successful, and the Passion is not for the "making of money" unless you are printing your own :), but it is for the creating of something new and fresh. There always needs to be the drive to create "meaning" from what you are working on, you need to see the "worth" of what you do this will give you the strength and courage to make your adventure successful.

I have had times in my career where I have lost the vision and focus for a project and only when I have stood back and thought through the "Why" has the picture come back into focus and I have been able to commit myself back into the project. For me there always needs to be a reckoning on what it is costing me personally in life years when I commit to a project and I have found that when I am working with others who have the same thought process and commitment a project will be successful in my interpretation of success.


Slainte


Gordon

"Your Customers Journey"

"The performance is what it is all about"






I was driving into work today listening to the local radio show and there was a reporter using a phrase that caught my attention, the customers journey he was explaining about a new text service which was undergoing beta testing and it was there to help improve the connection time between the customers and the company he wished to talk with a fascinating service, but it left me with a thought....What is the experience like of your customers journey ?

I thought off some different areas that we as customers interact with suppliers of services , the one that caused the most amusement was airlines and check-in desks, followed by call centers and I and I walked through the experience at the end of it I thought I pay for that ? The most pleasurable interactions I have had are isolated to one or two restaurant that I frequent, is the food always great no! But the service is first class, lesson to be learned there guys and gals.

I would challenge you to think about the customers journey with your company, one company I worked for was an early stage telecoms business, which lost a major customer due to the arrogance of the senior engineering staff, they knew best and the customers knew nothing, as it turned out the customer did know best and went elsewhere. The customer always knows best, until they change there mind.

Today have a look at your customers journey through all the media that they can use to interact with you, and ask yourself is this a pleasurable journey, do e-mails get answered same day? Does the customer talk to a real person or is it VM prison ? How does your receptionist or who ever makes first contact at your premises make the person comfortable ? Is the customer king and does he feel like he is ? These are only a few of the questions that should be getting answered, companies starting up die without customers , and are in general the worst at managing the customer relationship, from cradle to repeat business, those who are good at the process are usually successful, and remember once you have a customer pleased with your service and his customer journey it is easier to manage the problems that will arise from time to time.

Well time to go and get ready for another day at ForthDD..Hope your weekend was good


Slainte

Gordon