Dennis Moseley-Williams

There is a new baby living at my house and no surprise I find that I am keeping some stranger sleeping hours, as a result I get to watch a lot of middle-of-the-night TV.

The other day I caught The Little Drummer Girl, it was released in 1984 and stars Dianne Keaton. As an aside, it is an excellent film and you should see it some time.

In 1984, movie companies made movies, and that was it. Now movie companies are

“Entertainment conglomerates,” and they are no longer interested in making art – they are interested in making money.

In 1984 when the character Diane Keaton is playing stares off into the distance, the world on her mind, torn between what she feels is right and her own doubts, there is a gentle piano score playing in the background. It’s perfect, it’s appropriate, its art.

If they remade the movie today, there would be a pop song playing because Warner Brothers no longer only makes movies – they make TV shows, video games, and they have a music division.

So now when they sit around the table they are not only thinking “let’s make a movie, let’s make art” they are thinking “let’s make a movie, get one of our singing artists (or two) to release a big song, and then we can sell the sound track.”

“So we’ll make some money selling tickets to the movies, we’ll make more money when we sell the soundtrack, and then (when possible – for example Batman The Dark Knight Rises) we’ll sell a video game to the kids, and  then partner up with a fast food chain to throw some toys into the bag plus merchandise at stores.”

Now movies are made by business guys in the marketing department.

You can’t always blame these companies like Warner Brothers for doing what they have done – I completely understand how it happens. If you are going to sell them a ticket to the movie, you may as well sell them a sound track.

In 1992 the movie The Bodyguard was huge, the soundtrack featuring Whitney Houston singing I will always Love you has to date sold 45 million copies, making it the bestselling sound track of all time.

But there is a difference in intent. Companies have shifted from “let’s make a movie. period.” to “let’s find a way to sell more stuff.” The film, the art, is really just a conduit to your wallet. Now the art is the deal, not the picture.

Now a movie can be absolute trash, but because it makes $100 million it’s a success and before you can say “really?” You hear that the sequel is already in the works. Lousy story, lousy acting, but $100 million in ticket sales and a significant capture of the coveted “16-25 years old demographic.”

This goal lacks authenticity. To make a profit, versus making art.

Your business is your art and your craft. Your intent must be to create something beautiful, something memorable, something perfect.

Stick to what you do, and don’t lose sight of it. Be genuine. Be proud. Be clear, and for the better of all of us, be real.

Those of us who pay attention will thank you for it and there are more of us then you realize.

What is truly valuable isn’t available on every shelf. People seek it out. They hunt for it, they earn it. They say things like “once in a lifetime” when they buy it or experience it. We all have something, or some things that are worth more to us than what we paid for it.

I wouldn’t sell y cabin in the woods for a million dollars, it means too much to me. It’s too rare. Too special.

Do you want to find yourself in a race to the very bottom? Compare yourself to the competition. Compete on price, be cheaper. Throw a few bonuses in, offer an extra night or a longer term.

Or compare yourself to some unattainable ideal. Compare yourself to the business you want to be – to some far off, yet discovered place and then you are on to something.

When things are scarce they are rare, and difficult to attain and absolutely worth it.

Rather than trying to figure out how you can compete with everyone else by watering down the product, instead consider how you can make changes to your offering that nobody could live without.

When you compare yourself to better than the best: good things will happen.

“I Think They Will Be Good for the Job?!”

In the Experience economy the hiring of the right people is critical. Is this stating the obvious??? Perhaps. But then again it is very common to hear a business owner describe their hope for a recent hire in uncommitted terms. “I think they will be a good fit”, “I feel they have the skills”, “They seem very keen and should work out” are all tentative statements. If your relationship with a new employee is already tentative and they have not started the job yet, what does the future look like?

A bad hire is not just a risk for the internal operations of the business. It is an acute and serious risk to the goodwill and relationship credibility you have built up with your better clients. In a business that is focused on providing value through Experience there is no margin for error when it comes to hiring. If you cannot be absolutely certain about every hire you make before their first day of work, then you have made a mistake.

Here are some suggestions to make your hiring process more effective so that you can mitigate or eliminate the potential for a mistake:

1. Develop clear criteria for what you expect from employees.
2. Be sure about the skills set and the personality traits you are looking for to meet the expectations of the role you are hiring for.
3. Never get sold by the interviewee.
4. Consider having a take away task for the interviewee to do between interviews and use this as a gauge of their determination and the quality of their work.
5. Don’t take shortcuts.
6. Always ask for two more references than they have. This way you get deeper into their employment history.
7. ALWAYS phone the references. I am still amazed at how many times this gets ignored.
8. Use www.kolbe.com or some other personality assessment service as a final screen for your shortlist to bring some science into your hiring selection.

Great teams do not happen by accident. They are formed with the right people one person at a time.

Do your policies make people pick a fight?

“Do you think I bowed out … ‘cause I think you’re right or cause I don’t wanna fight?” – Fight by The Tragically Hip www.thehip.com

The worst thing to hear in the world is “I’m sorry, but our policy is …” because in a moment, you are going to be incredibly disappointed.

Saying “it’s our policy” is about as popular as saying “I was just following orders.” The person who says this is being encouraged to hide behind a faceless organization that makes these draconian decisions in other cities “above my pay grade.”

“Just tell them you are sorry, but can’t help, and then blame it on us. Just explain that ‘it’s our policy’.”

What a tragedy.

Poor policies take away the power from their front line staff to empathize and make a difference.

One of your clients has a crisis; it’s the front line staff that will hear about it long before the owner. Even worse, the owner will hear about it when its history, when whatever decision made is made, when it’s too late.

So you better hope your policy is to make people happy.

When you hide behind a policy what you are really saying is “We refuse to think.” You are saying this problem happens all the time, so often in fact that you have made a companywide decision to be unreasonable about it.

How about, “How can I help you?”

How about, “I completely understand.”

How about, “I am on your side.”

Sometimes things are going to go south. Sometimes you are going to ship something that gets lost by the courier or broken in transit. Something is going to go wrong and there won’t be anything you can do about …

Take ownership. Get on side with your clients and help them.

This is how you can sometimes turn a crisis into an opportunity.

So here is an exceptional story from my friend Joanne. I love her house, if it were ever up for sale I’d want to buy it. I think it’s perfect. She told me that she had the kitchen done by IKEA about 10 years ago.

The board that is right above her dishwasher had become discoloured. She was careful to explain that the reason the board had become discoloured is because the steam from the dishwasher affects it whenever she opens the door. It’s not the fault of the board, the stain or IKEA.

She has a handy guy remove the wood, heads to IKEA to see if she can get a new board. When she explains her story to the IKEA staff person he informs her that he can’t replace the board, but he can replace her entire kitchen at no cost.

Joanne reminds him she just needs a board.

He reminds her that the kitchen is guaranteed for life.

Joanne says “I really just need the board.”

He says “Sorry, it’s our policy.”

IKEA must be Swedish for “smart.”

Assumptions are the shark-infested waters that can leave you a little paranoid and feeling like you are drifting alone out in the middle of the ocean.

When dealing with the demands of clients/customers you can choose to base your responses on conjecture or assumptions. Or, you can choose to always be open to giving your client/customer the Experience of caring and understanding by seeking to first understand where they are coming from before you respond.

Option A gives you the high probability of taking a course of action that can damage a relationship. After all you are being driven by assumptions that may be unfounded. Option B gives you the potential to continue evolving your relationship in a healthy and productive way. The only difference is the risk you are willing to take. In many ways the easy way out is to make assumptions.

Constantly seeking ways to engage your clients/customers in an Experience is the road less travelled but provides the greatest rewards. If it was easy everyone would do it and then where would you be?

Have you ever taken a quiet moment for yourself and asked if the Experience that your customers/clients get is an Experience you would like to have? Not the Experience you may have convinced yourself is good for them to have but the Experience one that you would actually want to have yourself. The two things can be VERY different.

If you want your clients/customers to love the Experience of interacting with your business as much as you think they should, then start by making sure it is an Experience you would love to have yourself. Not an easy task but it will be well worth the reward. Just remember, innovation is the lifeblood of any business.