Are you an organization that can “change on a dime”?
There is a store that is part of a national chain that I visit each morning. They solicit customer opinions, so I sometimes offer my thoughts. I have always thought, though, that it takes them too long to consider and contemplate making any changes.
One time they told me that they would let the manager know about a situation. They said she would then tell the regional manager and if he thought it might have merit, it would be passed along to the home headquarters. They told me that this could take months to do.
Fast forward to months ago when the coronavirus hit our country: This same organization made changes overnight when the COVID-19 situation occurred. Everything was swapped out for new systems, products and procedures.
How is it that they could act so quickly? The answer is that they knew they had to if they wanted to remain open. They had to be able to “change on a dime”.
TEN QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ASK YOURSELF
- Are you listening to your customers?
- Do you do everything in your power to change the things that make sense?
- Are you making changes that seem right to keep up with the times?
- Do you ask your employees for input about things that should be changed?
- How about your customers— do you invite them into the decision-making process?
- What things in the past have you said “no” to that perhaps you should reconsider?
- Do you have signs that let customers know you welcome their input?
- How do your team members act when a customer has an idea?
- How many customer ideas have you put in place since you’ve been in business?
- Is it time to survey customers for their ideas to improve your organization?
The challenge for any organization who wants to stay in operation is to make sure it is ready and able to “change on a dime” when it has to.