Customer Experience Crossroads

Better Thinking -- save the world, or just save your sanity

I've heard Tim Hurson speak a couple of times, and he's a good speaker. So I got his book, Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. Now, consultant's books are often a waste of time, as I'm sure you know. This one isn't.*

What I liked about Think Better

I liked the book for several reasons. It's readable, it's clear, it's demystifying, and there are some decent graphics to break up the text.

The book sets forth a useful process for solving problems that is built on the Osborne-Parnes Creative Problem Solving (CPS) framework. Osborne-Parnes is the granddaddy of creativity models. Mr. Hurson has taken his considerable learning and experience in this model and others, and distilled it into a six-step approach. It's similar to CPS, but seems more grounded and approachable.

One element that makes a lot of sense to me is establishing some success criteria before generating ideas, which is a bit different than the CPS framework. While this might seem limiting, it can also be energizing.

Here are the six steps to thinking better as Mr. Hurson has reframed them: [1] What's going on [2] What's success [3] What's the question [4] Generate answers [5] Forge the solution and [6] Align Resources.

Each of these steps has examples and exercises that can get you started.

There is also a very good beginning section to the book that explains why our hard-wiring tends to lead us to too-quick solutions and wrong solutions (Chapter 2: Monkey Mind, Gator Brain and the Elephant's Tether.) And there is a good description about the difference between reproductive thinking and productive thinking, and the importance of staying with a problem long enough to generate really innovative ideas, (Chapters 3 to 5)

We need both kinds of thinking, of course. But reproductive thinking is the type of process that can lead us to incremental improvements in things, to supporting productivity initiatives and six-sigma initiatives, and similar approaches. Best practices studies are a great example of seeking out the best in reproductive thinking and figuring out how to apply it.

Productive thinking is new thinking. It is thinking that takes us to improvements or changes that are more than incremental. Sometimes it means really redefining what the problem is.

My everyday example

When we planted new bulbs last year, the squirrels started eating them. My problem: how to stop the squirrels from eating the bulbs.

I did have some success criteria. The solution could not be ugly. It had to leave a good-looking garden. And no squirrels could be cruelly harmed.

Helpful neighbors suggested using chicken wire as a physical barrier. [Just too ugly for my refined sensibilities.] So we tried a number of other remedies, such as scattering everything from blood meal to chili pepper flakes and cloves. Not totally satisfactory.

Upon further consideration, perhaps I need to redefine the problem. Maybe the challenge is to plant bulbs that squirrels don't like to eat? Or even rethinking my ideas about what can be planted in a front garden? Why not tomatoes and lettuce instead of flowering bulbs? You get the idea.

These methods can be used on your own, or in groups. They can be used for day-to-day problem solving, or addressing big, world-changing issues.

If you are tired of reading books on creative thinking that leave you wondering how to get started, this one is a good choice. It's practical and tactical.

What I missed in this book:

As a researcher, I was looking for ways to incorporate the voice of customers into this process. I largely found that missing. For the most part, the assumption is that the team has direct access to the data related to the challenge at hand.

Don't let that stop you, however. The next book I'm going to review is very strong on the listening-to-customers element, and weaker on the creative problem-solving process. Together, they're dynamite.

Resources:

Sites that describe the Osborne-Parnes model well:

Six-stage model on one page: http://members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/Brain/cps.htm

This web site presents a nice, simple, guide to the basic core of the Osborne-Parnes approach. You can read it in the time it takes to sip a coffee and put it to work immediately.

Wikipedia starting point

Tim Hurson's book: Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. He's also started a blog which looks promising, here.

Alex Osborne's book, Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Thinking is currently not available via Amazon. Try a library or look for it used if you want to go back to the source.

*  My book, The Innovative Organization, is not like this either. It's not tactical, but several people have told me it is clear and useful. All proceeds of the book go to the business school that funded the research. If you read it, I'd welcome your feedback.

 Addendum April 17:

In my efforts to sift out blatant promotions from comments, I threw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. Apologies to reader Peter (see comments below), who has a great recommendation for a book he enjoyed. His comments really make me want to read the book.

The innovation research is finally in print!

For more than two years, I've been involved in a major research project on innovation. This wasn't the kind of research that academics do, it was the kind that practicing business people do.

My colleagues and I conducted round-table discussions with more than 150 executives and managers from 121 organizations. Most of these events were held in person, but a few were online discussion forums.

The net result was published as a book by the main research sponsor, the executive education arm of Schulich School of Business.

We had the book launch this week, in connection with the ribbon cutting for the Centre of Excellence in Innovation that the school launched in concert with this research. There was air kissing, hand-shaking, and even book autographing, along with fancy things on crackers and suitable adult beverages.

We learned a lot of really interesting things about innovation. We exploded a few myths. And we got the stories and experiences of working managers in all kinds of industries who have lived the emotional roller-coaster on innovation. Here's a one page graphic that summarizes some of the key learning, and the interesting paradoxes we found.

Download summit_framework_v6.pdf

We weren't talking to the research participants about "new product" or "new technology", although that certainly came up. We went looking for innovation in every form and every functional area, from finance to marketing. The book is about the themes that emerged from this research.

There is only one place to get this book, if you'd like to read it. You can order it from Schulich online. All proceeds of the book go to the school. [And they include shipping, you've gotta love that!]

Resources
PS. If you happen to be a blogger or a national columnist, and you'd like a review copy, shoot me an e-mail, I'll see what I can do.

Culture and Consumption II: an anthropology undergrad in 7 easy chapters

“…heirlooms can evoke one of several notions of family continuity and the individual’s responsibility thereto…”

-- Grant McCracken, Culture and Consumption II

The back story: of teenage girls and their grandmothers' jewelry

I conducted some research with teens aged 15 to 16 recently, about their relationship with technology. One of the questions I asked them was this: if your home was about to burn down, and you knew your family and pets were safe, what five objects would you take with you, and why? Much later, when I was compiling the results of this project into a report, I noticed something quite interesting. About two-thirds of the young women named an object of cross-generational significance. Most of these were items of jewelry, such as "my grandmother's ring".

I was sorry that I was no longer able to probe deeply into this topic, and in any case, it was far outside the scope of the project. But I was still fascinated. What was the meaning of these treasured objects? I own a few myself, and recall how proud I was to be entrusted to carry these precious items across time into the next generation. Although not valuable in the conventional sense, each of these objects is individually listed in my will. I wondered if the objects are significant to the teens in my study because they are invested with meaning about the passage into adulthood, a meaning perhaps more important than the monetary value of the objects. I wondered if girls are more likely to get such objects than boys are. And I thought to myself that someone like Grant McCracken probably knows what this is all about, because a) he is a really smart guy and b) he is an anthropologist.

I believe this was the incident that really pushed me over the edge, and forced me to buy one of his books. This decision was taken with some trepidation, since I know his working vocabulary alone is plentiful, beautiful and scary in action. Was I really up to the task? And which book to read? 

The book

I settled on Culture and Consumption II, which is not a book about conducting lab work on tuberculosis bacteria at all, but is about "markets, meaning and brand management".

What a genuine treat. And I mean that sincerely. This book is compelling. And like few business books* you will read in your career, it has the potential to change your thinking in profound and lasting ways.

“It is time to see that goods carry many meanings additional to those of status and that some of these meanings are very deliberately at odds with the status system and the objectives of conspicuous consumption.” **

Consumer society explained

Mr. McCracken is at his most adept when he explains the ways in which our consumer society is as rife with meaning as the society of any aboriginal bushman.  He provides many engaging examples of how our relationships with objects are part of our constant and evolving definition of our very selves; part of our battle for status in society; and sometimes our refuge from that battle. This is a man who loves consumers with the tenderness and absorption that many men reserve for their children. And indeed, we need someone to love us, because we have often been dismissed as grasping hollow vessels that mindlessly serve the corporate machine.

"As the contemporary world becomes more dynamic and transformational, consumers find themselves living in a fluid, unpredictable world.” 

The Royal Ontario Museum as a clash of cultures

The ROM is a venerated institution that houses everything from Egyptian mummies to dinosaur bones. In one section of the book, Mr.McCracken contrasts the mission of the institution from the perspective of the staff and its de facto place in the lives of visitors. As a cultural analysis, this brings quite a different lens to the visitor experience than most of us would have.

The ROM has recently had a controversial renovation designed by Daniel Libeskind – the Crystal.  Although not discussed in the book, I understood more fully than before why a successful immigrant from Jamaica would want to contribute $30 million to this institution to fund this renovation, and put his family name on the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.  It made sense to me before, but now I can see the nuances that made this particular philanthropy almost inevitable in some way.

If you are part of any institution that has ever held itself above its customers – whether it be a university, a museum, a library, or even a banking institution -- you simply must read this chapter.

A suggested reading strategy, lest you think I am completely bonkers

There are many other gems in this book. But you will have to wade your way through a document that is occasionally hip-deep in academic language, and asides that you probably need advanced degrees to follow. Virtually every paragraph has citations. I thought those might be my undoing until I decided to ignore them.

Even after that momentous decision, I had to accept the fact that some passages were unlikely to reveal their meaning to me no matter how many times I cast my eyeballs over them. And I struggled with Part Three, a section about "the way in which mid-century modernism and certain notions of social mobility were played out in the 1954 Buick and subsequent car designs". I struggled along without relief until there was finally a reference to Sunday drives, a tradition I remember well from my youth. [Although we usually drove to see refineries, a phenomenon you will understand if you have an engineer in your family, afterwards we drove through new suburbs under construction.]

So don't get bogged down in the language. Understand that this kind of language is how academics demonstrate their chops. It does not mean you are an idiot. It means you are not an academic. Take comfort in the fact that most academics would be completely at sea in your annual budgeting process, and keep reading for the good stuff that will follow. Or as a skiing instructor once said to me, "there is always snow on the other side of the ice".

This is not a conventional business book.  It's much better.

 

Notes

* I don't think it was intended as a business book, I have re-purposed it

** All "quotes in italics" are from the book, Culture and Consumption II, by Grant McCracken

 

How To Talk to Customers: Book Review

This wee blog now seems to attract enough attention that I fairly regularly get books to review. When "How to Talk to Customers" arrived a few months ago, I was busier than an an ice-cream truck at a beach. So the book went onto the pile of reading, and didn't really get looked at for a while.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a very practical volume with quite granular advice suitable for front line customer service situations. Authors Diane Berenbaum and Tom Larkin are principals of a company that provides customer service training, and this book presents many of the ideas that they must use in their training and workshops (see resources).

If you are looking for something of a strategic nature, this is not the book for you. But if you run a front-line service area as a supervisor or manager, you can probably use a lot of what is suggested in this book. 

MAGIC

The authors' big idea is the acronym MAGIC (Make A Great Impression on the Customer), which runs through the book as a theme. It took me a while to figure out that they actually had a much more useful version of this acronym, as follows:

M = make a connection: build the relationship

A = act professionally: express confidence

G = get to the heart of the matter: listen and ask questions

I = inform and clarify what you will do

C = close with the relationship in mind

Every section has examples and stories -- "Magic Moments" and "Tragic Moments". There are lots of details on very granular topics, such as how to use a customers' name, how to personalize interactions, and how to listen with empathy.

I found it almost too granular, personally, which means it is probably exactly right for front line staff. When they state a principle, they usually provide a couple of specific examples of a snippet of conversation to illustrate the point.  Each of the five magic principles above translates to several standards, 33 in total. I have helped a few organizations develop service standards, and this list would make a great starting point for anyone.

Coaching

My favorite section was on coaching. A great deal of attention has been paid to the idea of coaching performance, and for a good reason -- it works. However, a lot more people talk about coaching their staff than actually do coach.

The chapter on coaching provides  a solid process for actually talking to your staff in a coaching session. And also makes it clear that a coach must be able to model the desired behaviors -- to walk the talk.

First impressions

Oddly enough, the reason I had trouble engaging with this book was due to poor first impressions. A book this tactical should probably be in a coil binding, not a hardcover binding, and it should have headers and footers that quickly help you locate your position in the 33 standards. It could have used some color and simple graphics to help me navigate this many concepts. And just from an aesthetic standpoint, I didn't like the feel of the paper.   

I was about half-way through the book before I decided it had pretty good stuff going for it, largely because of the visuals.

Resources

How to talk to customers: create a great impression every time with MAGIC, by Diane Berenbaum and Tom Larkin. Jossey-Bass, 2007.

Available from Amazon US here, Amazon Canada here, and Chapters-Indigo here. 

The authors business site is Communico Ltd.

The image is from the Prelinger Archive of films. This one is from a scream called "Are you popular" made in 1947.

Interview with Jonathan Tisch about Reinventing the Customer Experience

This blog tour by Jonathan Tisch has been interesting on a few levels. What a creative idea, for starters. And what a clever publicist to pick up on it.

I knew we'd be up at the end of the tour week, and I thought that things might be getting repetitive by now. So I sent questions that I hoped were different, and might scratch through the polished package that accompanies anyone who occupies a corner office, to say nothing of someone who is also on the speaking circuit.  I don't think we got anything unvarnished, but I think we did get some frank and forthright commentary.  Here's our e-mail Q&A, as conversational as we could make it.

"[It is] challenging for CEOs to balance service versus profits"

Susan Abbott: Jonathan, I first wanted to tell you that I read a paragraph from your book to kick off a recent client working session about customer experience. It was about how everyone in the organization actually needs to think about and be focused on customers. I was happy to hear people repeating this stuff a week later to others.

I only wish it was so easy to get people on board, especially at the top of the organization.   I know some are -- Lafley at P&G of course is a great example. But it seems like the exception, not the rule. Why aren't more executives on board?

Jonathan Tisch: With the focus coming from Wall Street on quarterly earnings for public companies, it becomes a bit challenging for CEOs to balance service versus profits. The enlightened leaders of some companies have figured out that great customer service usually leads to an enhanced bottom line. That is the ultimate challenge – to find ways for your customers to receive the service that they deserve, turn them in to life-long customers, and ensure that they don’t go to the competition should they have a bad experience. 

"What has changed is the business of hotels, not the hotel business"

SA: One of the things that immediately drew me to your book was your genuine understanding of the vulnerability of the traveler who is a guest in your hotel. I spent a few years where I was continually on the road, and it can be a lonely and frustrating place at times.

Still, I recognize that my expectations are very high. But of course this wasn't always the case -- I can't imagine what travel in the 1800s must have been like. It makes me wonder how customer expectations will change in the future. You mentioned the importance of staying on top of emerging trends and the next demographic shift. Could you comment on that? 

JT: What is happening in the lodging industry today relates to the old saying, “the more things change the more they stay the same.” What has changed is the business of hotels, not the hotel business.

Our business has become highly sophisticated with very large, corporate entities becoming players. When you look at the Marriotts, InterContinentals and Hiltons of the world – all with many thousands of properties, at different price points and market niches – you understand that the big are getting bigger and that, through acquisitions and strategic alliances, they have become formidable competition with tremendous offerings.

There has also been a greatly enhanced focus by Wall Street and private equity on the hotel business, so many of the new players are very well capitalized and have extremely bright people as part of their organizations.

That’s the business of hotels.

But what hasn’t changed since the first person checked into a hotel 1,000 years ago, is the hotel business. At its core, our business is based on hospitality and making people feel welcome, comfortable and safe. The companies that continue to thrive are the ones able to skate the line between profitability and hospitality.

Going forward, we will always have new technological advances to deal with. But once again, our industry is extremely biased toward interpersonal and human relations.   

"The companies that thrive are able to skate the line between profitability and hospitality"

SA: You mentioned several instances in the book where staff quite correctly bend the rules to look after a customer. But you also note consistency is critically important -- customers need to know an organization is reliable and dependable.

Is there a tension between customization and consistency? And if so, how does an organization deal with this tension?

JT: If your co-workers are properly educated and trained, then customization and consistency can, indeed, be compatible. That’s the nature of crisis resolution. What I like to discuss with my Loews Hotels co-workers isn’t about the problem necessarily. It’s about the recovery.

With so many options for the consumer, recovery from a problem is paramount because that’s how you keep one of your customers from going to a competitor.

It is a very fine line that has to be taught to, in some cases, entry-level individuals – how to get involved and what opportunities for crisis resolution are available to them. At Loews Hotels we pride ourselves on balancing consistency with customization to provide the level of service our guests have become accustomed to. 

"The CEO cannot be involved in every decision -- nor should they be"

SA: I'd like to ask you about managing a culture of innovation. If we want to harness the creative talents at all levels of an organization, how do we do that? What specifically does the CEO need to do to role model the right approach? Short of writing a book, of course.

JT: The CEO always sets the tone for an organization. Due to corporate hierarchy, it can get a little lonely at the top if there’s not complete buy-in at every level of the organization.

Due to physical and time constraints, the CEO cannot be involved in every decision – nor should they be involved in every decision. It’s extremely important for middle and senior-management to have a very clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the company. In addition, creativity is an important tool that should be harnessed to effectively manage toward these goals. This is something that needs to be taught to all the individuals making decisions.

"The CEO always sets the tone for an organization"

JT: It’s very important to always monitor the touch-points of your organization so that you can see where the customer intersects with your product or service.

As the CEO, there are times when I find myself talking to clients about their experiences, in a sense pleading with them to be honest and candid with me. It really is important for the CEO to hear everything – the good and the bad. Because much of what gets to a CEO on a daily basis is somewhat sanitized by those working for them, I find it important to regularly speak with our guests.

Additionally there are always letters, observations, comments and criticisms that come across the transom. CEOs always need to understand what’s being said about their organization so that they can deal with the situations appropriately.

SA: Thank you, Jonathan. It's not often that a CEO of a major organization lets themselves be interviewed by a blogger. I really appreciate having your executive level perspective on things that my readers and I think about!

JT: Thank you, Susan, for this dialogue! I’ve enjoyed this week immensely. Thank you for welcoming me to your blog.

SA: We talk a lot on this blog about the need to stay close to customers, and the tools that help you do that effectively. I'm wondering what some of your favorite methods are?

Jonathan Tisch to visit May 25

Jonathan Tisch, author of Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience (with Karl Weber) will be visiting this blog for a Q&A next Friday, May 25. 

It's all part of a blog book tour.
(And isn't that just a cool idea, courtesy of David Polinchok at BrandExperienceLab)

Jonathan's the CEO of Loew's Hotels, so he knows a few things about chocolates and such. I have been pleasantly surprised at how meaningful and meaty the book is.  In fact, I read an extract from the book at a recent client working session to get us all into the right mindset.

So I am delighted to be able to have Jonathan as my virtual guest. I don't think we have the capability of virtual autographs, for which I'm truly sorry. However, we're very big on co-creation around here, so if there's something you'd really like to know or ask a hotel CEO or experience leader, please e-mail me.

Other blogs will be hosting Jonathan as well.  Here's the schedule:

Monday 5/21

http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org - Q&A format

http://customersrock.wordpress.com/ Q&A format

 

Tuesday 5/22

http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/ Podcast/Q&A format

 

Wednesday 5/23

http://www.grokdotcom.com Podcast format

http://www.vacantready.com Q&A format

 

Thursday 5/24

http://www.lipsticking.com/ Podcast format

http://experiencethemessage.typepad.com/blog/ Q&A format

 

Friday 5/25

http://www.arc.typepad.com/customercrossroads Q&A format

http://experienceology.blogspot.com/ Podcast format

Using Games to Uncover Insights

I had the pleasure of reviewing an early copy of Luke Hohmann's upcoming book, Innovation Games.

What a delightful surprise to find it filled with actual good ideas, well explained. 

Each of the games is actually an activity that you can facilitate with a group of people, such as users or customers, or potential customers.  The activities largely fit into a two hour time slot, which makes them suitable for ideation sessions or focus group types of environments.  Although the games are certainly not limited to that.   

The games are about uncovering new product ideas, ways to improve an existing product, and similar topics.  These are the the projects where you hope the stars will align for you and your client, and you pull out all your best tricks to make it happen. 

While the problems addressed are familiar, the activities present a good slant on an old problem.  For example, Speed Boat uses anchors holding back a boat as a metaphor for barriers to increased use or adoption. 

These kinds of activities sound simple enough, but the trick is always in using them effectively.  I found Luke's instructions clear and useful, and he provides a number of his "secret tips" that could save you learning things the hard way.  He also talks about the debrief process, a critical step in anything of this nature.

If you are trying to get some innovative thinking going, this would be an excellent place to start. For the individual who is new to facilitation, or has no budget for expert help, Luke provides very clear guidance on what is needed, whether it is flip-charts or index cards, and how the flow of things should work.

For those of you who are already skilled facilitators, a few of the games may seem familiar. For example, the "Me and My Shadow" game is observational shadowing of someone in a specific role, or a user. This is something I'm personally very familiar with.  "Remembering the Future" may be also have some familiar DNA for the experienced facilitator.  Having said that, I'd be surprised if you didn't get at least one, and more likely several new techniques from this book.  And it is often nice to see someone else's slant and enhancements on an old favorite.

So, I know this is a pretty shameless plug, and I've never actually met Luke -- we've just exchanged e-mails. So it's just my enthusiasm for the content.  I just thought the book was really practical and useful, (unlike so many business books these days).  Publication is slated for September, but you can pre-order.

Blink Reaction

Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Blink , is a good read -- it reads like a story, and has lots of good vignettes in it.  Gladwell is a popularizer, which is not a bad thing to be, and he does it well.  He scans widely for information, and assembles it in a way that makes it accessible and memorable.  And even if you are pretty well read in the area of psychology, you're likely to pick up some new ideas. 

Mr. Gladwell doesn't really say a lot about what to do with the insights he has gathered.  Brace yourselves for lots of misinterpretations and strange justifications based on this book.

There are lessons and implications to be drawn from Blink for the customer experience manager -- people like us.