I travel fairly frequently and have the opportunity to experience a number of different client settings, cities and airports. This means I am often confronted with things I don't expect, or situations that I didn't anticipate. That's just part of the life of a consultant. What surprises me, and worries me, about many of the firms I work with, is how consistent and "stable" their experiences and worldviews are. Most of the people I interact with don't seem to have much opportunity to experience the reality of their customers or their markets. There are a couple of reasons for this.
One reason senior executives don't experience their market is that it is filtered to them. Just like GM executives never purchased a car, too many executives don't interact with their channels, customers or products. I read a NY Times article recently about the CEO of RyanAir. People may love or hate him, but he has his finger on the pulse of his market. He, like Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, often is taking tickets and he flies in coach, often taking a middle seat. He knows what his customers are experiencing. Many managers and executives don't.
The middle management layer in most firms is so focused on making the next quarter or bringing home the current project that they simply don't have time to focus on the world around them. Recently I've been working with a large financial institution that seems relatively unaware of the tremendous amount of innovation in their markets, coming from all angles - Prosper for loans, Mint for money management, the multitude of alternative payment mechanisms. While its all out there in the press, no one seems to be paying attention. They are simply too busy to notice.
Another problem is the low value placed on interactions, conferences and travel. Since many firms have ratcheted down the travel and conference budget, the number of people getting out of the office and in front of prospects or customers, or mingling with others at events and conferences has plummeted. Today we've successfully walled off the vast majority of our employees from any significant interaction with business partners, customers or prospects, and they have willingly allowed themselves to ignore competitors and substitute offerings. It's almost to the point where we'll have to hire scouts to tell us what is going on in the market outside our four walls.
This should never happen to any firm that interacts on a regular basis with the public. Any retail establishment or services organization has ample opportunity to interact with customers and prospects without even trying hard - it's the will to do so that's missing, and the ability to use the insights gained that is even weaker. Rather than turn inward, now is the time to turn outward. In a time of economic upheaval, the worst thing your firm can do is wall itself off from the market and its signals. The shifts are coming, will you notice them? Get out of your office and mingle with your customers and your prospects. If MBWA (Management by Walking Around) is a good idea internally, it's even more of a necessity now.
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