"iH" is a meaningless word, but when iH is written reverse, it is "Hi", the most common ice-breaking greeting. Ice-breaking is the first touchpoint of a relationship.
Same magic works for "43770". If one presses "43770" in a calculator, and reads upside down, 43770 immediately turns into "Hello".
This kind of alphabetic coding is used when it is inconvenient to speak in public, or when a person wants to initiate a secret communication without the knowledge of others. Coding prohibits transparency, because codes are usually understood by a limited few. Those who do not understand the codes are simply left out. The minority simply prevail over the majority.
Touchpoint chain will never be formed when there is no commom language.
27 June 2006
Beta
Everything Google launches into the market almost comes in "beta." Using the "beta" approach, Google gets new products or features out into the marketplace quickly, then improve them as they are used. That's basically the Google experience.
The "beta" approach is in fact an irresponsible act. It simply undermines the traditional marketing mix, which is the combination of product, price, place and promotion, or better known as the 4Ps. In order to delight customers, product has to meet customer needs and wants. Product simply has to be "completed", or at least fully ready for consumption, before it is released to the market. But beta? It is still in the testing stage of the product development cycle. Who wants a product that is not perfect?
Besides beta, there is also alpha. In the future, there may even be gamma, delta, epsilon... This beta culture is starting to contaminate the external market. Microsoft is also launching Windows Live Mail Beta. But, who cares? The market seems to accept the greek alphabet concept. It either means that the 4Ps are no longer valid, or that the customer is now having more involvement in product development, so that the final product will be exactly what the customers asks for.
Beta encourages trial and error, which is a necessary requirement for improvement. As long as the enterprise thinks well to the end and considers first the end, beta is an acceptable process to achieve excellence; else, it is only going to be "beta" forever.
The "beta" approach is in fact an irresponsible act. It simply undermines the traditional marketing mix, which is the combination of product, price, place and promotion, or better known as the 4Ps. In order to delight customers, product has to meet customer needs and wants. Product simply has to be "completed", or at least fully ready for consumption, before it is released to the market. But beta? It is still in the testing stage of the product development cycle. Who wants a product that is not perfect?
Besides beta, there is also alpha. In the future, there may even be gamma, delta, epsilon... This beta culture is starting to contaminate the external market. Microsoft is also launching Windows Live Mail Beta. But, who cares? The market seems to accept the greek alphabet concept. It either means that the 4Ps are no longer valid, or that the customer is now having more involvement in product development, so that the final product will be exactly what the customers asks for.
Beta encourages trial and error, which is a necessary requirement for improvement. As long as the enterprise thinks well to the end and considers first the end, beta is an acceptable process to achieve excellence; else, it is only going to be "beta" forever.
25 June 2006
Breadth & Depth
"He who knows not and knows not he knows not: he is a fool - shun him.
He who knows not and knows he knows not: he is simple - teach him.
He who knows and knows not he knows: he is asleep - wake him.
He who knows and knows he knows: he is wise - follow him." Anonymous
Breadth and depth are about dimension. In terms of knowledge, the greater the better, but it is almost impossible to have both. Why is it? It's all about time. Everyone has the same 24 hours.
During childhood, everyone has the same breadth and depth since everyone receives more or less the same kind of education. During adolescence, those who are more willling to experience may have either more breadth or depth than those who are inactive. During adulthood, those who manage time more effectively and efficiently may have better dimension than those who manage poorly. For infancy and aging, it is irrelevant. They spend most of the time either in sleep mode or idling.
Which is better though? Breadth, or depth? This is also irrelevant, because it is difficult to have either one. If it has to have an answer, then which is better: one percent better at 100 things, or 100 percent better at one thing?
He who knows not and knows he knows not: he is simple - teach him.
He who knows and knows not he knows: he is asleep - wake him.
He who knows and knows he knows: he is wise - follow him." Anonymous
Breadth and depth are about dimension. In terms of knowledge, the greater the better, but it is almost impossible to have both. Why is it? It's all about time. Everyone has the same 24 hours.
During childhood, everyone has the same breadth and depth since everyone receives more or less the same kind of education. During adolescence, those who are more willling to experience may have either more breadth or depth than those who are inactive. During adulthood, those who manage time more effectively and efficiently may have better dimension than those who manage poorly. For infancy and aging, it is irrelevant. They spend most of the time either in sleep mode or idling.
Which is better though? Breadth, or depth? This is also irrelevant, because it is difficult to have either one. If it has to have an answer, then which is better: one percent better at 100 things, or 100 percent better at one thing?
24 June 2006
Persistence
There are endless factors to achieve touchpoint experience excellence. Persistence is just one of them.
Nothing goes smooth between the start and completion. The longer the time it takes to produce the deliverable, the higher the chance that things could go wrong. Good things just do not seem to last.
The key to success is not knowing how to deal with success, but failure. After all, success is easy to handle but hard to obtain, which is the complete opposite of failure. When failure arrives, which is not unusual, there are only two choices: give up forever, or learn from failure and start over again. If one opts for the first option, then there is no chance of winning. If the latter, then there is at least one more chance of reaching success.
Never give up the heart to search for excellence, but the heart to give up.
Nothing goes smooth between the start and completion. The longer the time it takes to produce the deliverable, the higher the chance that things could go wrong. Good things just do not seem to last.
The key to success is not knowing how to deal with success, but failure. After all, success is easy to handle but hard to obtain, which is the complete opposite of failure. When failure arrives, which is not unusual, there are only two choices: give up forever, or learn from failure and start over again. If one opts for the first option, then there is no chance of winning. If the latter, then there is at least one more chance of reaching success.
Never give up the heart to search for excellence, but the heart to give up.
19 June 2006
Unlearn to Learn
"Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn." Benjamin Franklin
Nobody is born with the ability to do everything.
One either has to be trained or is willing to take the initiative to learn in order to produce deliverable. Regardless of how the skills are acquired, once learned, sooner or later they become usual practices. If that practices are not the best practices, and when that practices become habits, whatever that person does in the future will follow an inapprorpiate route. There is simply no trial and error for that person, because there will only be errors in all future processes. Even if best practices become habits, best practices do not last due to changes in environment. Things effective at one time may become ineffective at another.
Same applies to touchpoint experience. Positive experience then definitely won't be positive experience now, and positive experience now won't be positive experience in the future. People will only have higher expectations as time progresses.
The higher the ability to produce better deliverables consistently, the better the chance to survive during tough times.
Winning is actually about "survival of the fittest."
Nobody is born with the ability to do everything.
One either has to be trained or is willing to take the initiative to learn in order to produce deliverable. Regardless of how the skills are acquired, once learned, sooner or later they become usual practices. If that practices are not the best practices, and when that practices become habits, whatever that person does in the future will follow an inapprorpiate route. There is simply no trial and error for that person, because there will only be errors in all future processes. Even if best practices become habits, best practices do not last due to changes in environment. Things effective at one time may become ineffective at another.
Same applies to touchpoint experience. Positive experience then definitely won't be positive experience now, and positive experience now won't be positive experience in the future. People will only have higher expectations as time progresses.
The higher the ability to produce better deliverables consistently, the better the chance to survive during tough times.
Winning is actually about "survival of the fittest."
Search
Everyone is always searching for something. Tom Peters... In Search of Excellence back in 1980s.
Why search? There are 2 main reasons. The first is that people always feel that they don't have enough. The second is that they are not happy with what they have. Whatever the reason, they just keep searching and searching. Even if they have actually got the right deliverable, they are still not satisfied. The search of excellence is meaningful if it benefits everyone, but it is simply a waste of resources if the never-ending search is just to satisfy one's meaningless desire.
How to search? Information is easily accessible from search engines. It is not difficult to find the information in need with search engines, but it is difficult to search the right result from the vast amount of information generated from the search. Take "search" as an example. If one types "search" in Google, it will generate 15,690,000,000 results for "search" within 0.04 seconds as of 01 August 2006. Of that 15,690,000,000 results, only a limited few is relevant to actual needs.
It is not a sellers' market but buyers' when it comes to searching. Sellers will do everything to boost their ranking in top search engines, believing that this would help build awareness and thus business. It is always suggested that the higher the rank on search list, especially Yahoo! or Google, the better. Is that a fact? Not quite. The search has to be relevant.
WisdomBoom was once ranked number one in Yahoo!, so what? It means nothing to WisdomBoom, because touchpoint experience is still a new concept to be accepted by the market.
Even if the enterprise has excellent deliverable, as long as it is not relevant, efforts spent will simply go to waste.
Why search? There are 2 main reasons. The first is that people always feel that they don't have enough. The second is that they are not happy with what they have. Whatever the reason, they just keep searching and searching. Even if they have actually got the right deliverable, they are still not satisfied. The search of excellence is meaningful if it benefits everyone, but it is simply a waste of resources if the never-ending search is just to satisfy one's meaningless desire.
How to search? Information is easily accessible from search engines. It is not difficult to find the information in need with search engines, but it is difficult to search the right result from the vast amount of information generated from the search. Take "search" as an example. If one types "search" in Google, it will generate 15,690,000,000 results for "search" within 0.04 seconds as of 01 August 2006. Of that 15,690,000,000 results, only a limited few is relevant to actual needs.
It is not a sellers' market but buyers' when it comes to searching. Sellers will do everything to boost their ranking in top search engines, believing that this would help build awareness and thus business. It is always suggested that the higher the rank on search list, especially Yahoo! or Google, the better. Is that a fact? Not quite. The search has to be relevant.
WisdomBoom was once ranked number one in Yahoo!, so what? It means nothing to WisdomBoom, because touchpoint experience is still a new concept to be accepted by the market.
Even if the enterprise has excellent deliverable, as long as it is not relevant, efforts spent will simply go to waste.
17 June 2006
Alignment
People get things done either by themselves or with the help and support of others.
Effectiveness can easily be achieved when a group of people speaks the same common language with the same objective works together. If execution is done right, then success is a sure thing when the task is brought to completion.
Efficiency? It depends on many other factors, such as task size and time constraint. If the task is simple, then it would be more efficient if the task is performed by one person. If complicated, then the next factor considered is time constraint. If high urgency, then a team with different expertise relevant to the task should be employed.
Alignment is about minimizing the possibility of negative touchpoint experience among a team of people. Conflicts and contradictions are inevitable because people have different values. Common lanugage is built by negotiation and compromise.
Effectiveness can easily be achieved when a group of people speaks the same common language with the same objective works together. If execution is done right, then success is a sure thing when the task is brought to completion.
Efficiency? It depends on many other factors, such as task size and time constraint. If the task is simple, then it would be more efficient if the task is performed by one person. If complicated, then the next factor considered is time constraint. If high urgency, then a team with different expertise relevant to the task should be employed.
Alignment is about minimizing the possibility of negative touchpoint experience among a team of people. Conflicts and contradictions are inevitable because people have different values. Common lanugage is built by negotiation and compromise.
No means No
When the sender assigns a task to the receiver, the sender expects the receiver to do what is asked. "NO" is not the answer the sender wants to hear from the receiver. To the sender, nothing is impossible. Even if it is impossible, the receiver has to make it possible with every possible efforts. It is not important whether or not it will work at the end of the day, because "a man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
However, everything is possible only if the expecations are communicated clearly (Deliverables), the task assigned is within the ability of the receiver (People), and the receiver is committed to the task (People). Without an inside-out and outside-in understanding of PID, or People, Information, and Deliverables, impossible is everything. If either one element is not fulfilled, then "NO" is the usual answer from the sender. Of course, besides "NO", the sender may still opt for "YES", but then the deliverable produced will be of mediocre quality. No, means no.
"NO" followed by never-ending "NOs" will only lead to negative touchpoint experience. "NO" followed by just one "YES" will give positive touchpoint experience.
Never "No" with nothing followed. Always "No" followed with something.
However, everything is possible only if the expecations are communicated clearly (Deliverables), the task assigned is within the ability of the receiver (People), and the receiver is committed to the task (People). Without an inside-out and outside-in understanding of PID, or People, Information, and Deliverables, impossible is everything. If either one element is not fulfilled, then "NO" is the usual answer from the sender. Of course, besides "NO", the sender may still opt for "YES", but then the deliverable produced will be of mediocre quality. No, means no.
"NO" followed by never-ending "NOs" will only lead to negative touchpoint experience. "NO" followed by just one "YES" will give positive touchpoint experience.
Never "No" with nothing followed. Always "No" followed with something.
16 June 2006
No Excuse
"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." John F Kennedy
Excuse is the root of blame. It hinders improvement. Only those who do not accept mistakes and avoid responsibilities will always use excuse to shy away from the identified problems. The worst situation is they use excuse to redirect the problems to the one who identifies them, or look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at.
To err is human. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, as long as the mistakes made are not simple; but it is terribly wrong to ignore mistakes and escape from responsibilities. However, when one is caught doing wrong, the first reaction of that person is usually defensive. Why defensive? Because people always think they are right. The reason why they could not do things right is not because of their ability, but because of the so-called uncontrollable factors such as people's interference. They'll do everything they could to save face, or not to lose face.
Admitting wrong requires significant power. Think not the face thing which has no real value and means nothing, but the actual benefits of taking the blame. It creates open-mindedness. It breeds an environment of harmony. It solves a problem, and prevents recurrence.
Remember: whenever one points a finger at someone else, four fingers point back at oneself.
No excuse. Just do it. Never use anger to deal with excuse.
Excuse is the root of blame. It hinders improvement. Only those who do not accept mistakes and avoid responsibilities will always use excuse to shy away from the identified problems. The worst situation is they use excuse to redirect the problems to the one who identifies them, or look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at.
To err is human. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, as long as the mistakes made are not simple; but it is terribly wrong to ignore mistakes and escape from responsibilities. However, when one is caught doing wrong, the first reaction of that person is usually defensive. Why defensive? Because people always think they are right. The reason why they could not do things right is not because of their ability, but because of the so-called uncontrollable factors such as people's interference. They'll do everything they could to save face, or not to lose face.
Admitting wrong requires significant power. Think not the face thing which has no real value and means nothing, but the actual benefits of taking the blame. It creates open-mindedness. It breeds an environment of harmony. It solves a problem, and prevents recurrence.
Remember: whenever one points a finger at someone else, four fingers point back at oneself.
No excuse. Just do it. Never use anger to deal with excuse.
09 June 2006
Smiley
The key to communication is language, and there are approximately 3,000 languages on Earth.
Smiley was developed by Franklin Loufrani, and was published for the first time on 01 January 1972. The yellow smiling face is the most recognizable icon in the world. It was even used in the film Forrest Gump, comically featured the smiley being "invented" when Forrest Gump wipes his mud-covered face off with a yellow t-shirt, inspiring a struggling businessman with the makeshift design.
Smile perhaps is the most powerful medicine, as it brightens up everyone's face, and instil positive attitude. Attitude determines all.
How to keep a smile on the face all the time?
Even if in the very early morning you are being disturbed with annoying things, and the mood for the day is totally ruined, try not to isolate yourself. This is only going to worsen the situation, and you will continue to stay unhappy forever. Instead, try to open up yourself and take the initiative to have chitchat with others. Nobody has the courage to approach you if your face has this "STOP" sign on it. Nobody actually bothers to approach you, and will just leave you alone.
If it's really difficult to put a smile on the face, then try this very efficient traditional method...
Say "Cheese"!
Smiley was developed by Franklin Loufrani, and was published for the first time on 01 January 1972. The yellow smiling face is the most recognizable icon in the world. It was even used in the film Forrest Gump, comically featured the smiley being "invented" when Forrest Gump wipes his mud-covered face off with a yellow t-shirt, inspiring a struggling businessman with the makeshift design.
Smile perhaps is the most powerful medicine, as it brightens up everyone's face, and instil positive attitude. Attitude determines all.
How to keep a smile on the face all the time?
Even if in the very early morning you are being disturbed with annoying things, and the mood for the day is totally ruined, try not to isolate yourself. This is only going to worsen the situation, and you will continue to stay unhappy forever. Instead, try to open up yourself and take the initiative to have chitchat with others. Nobody has the courage to approach you if your face has this "STOP" sign on it. Nobody actually bothers to approach you, and will just leave you alone.
If it's really difficult to put a smile on the face, then try this very efficient traditional method...
Say "Cheese"!
Life
People search for a lifetime the definition of life. They think they will have a better life if they understand what life is before actually living through it? Everyone has to go through it anyway, why bother the search?
Some people live longer while some shorter. Some are rich but more below the poverty line. It's unfair, but that's life. It really does not matter what life is as long as one lives life to the fullest, and has no regrets at the end of it.
One second has just passed, and it is already a part of life.
Stop wasting time. If the definition of life is so important, look it up in any English dictionary, then start to make every second of life count. Fill it with positive touchpoint experience.
"Life is the experience of living; the course of human events and activities." WordNet ® 2.0 © 2003 Princeton University
Some people live longer while some shorter. Some are rich but more below the poverty line. It's unfair, but that's life. It really does not matter what life is as long as one lives life to the fullest, and has no regrets at the end of it.
One second has just passed, and it is already a part of life.
Stop wasting time. If the definition of life is so important, look it up in any English dictionary, then start to make every second of life count. Fill it with positive touchpoint experience.
"Life is the experience of living; the course of human events and activities." WordNet ® 2.0 © 2003 Princeton University
07 June 2006
Management by...
There are many management styles.
Management by Objectives (MBO)
Management by Objectives (MBO)
"Management by objective works - if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don't." Peter Drucker
Isn't that ironic? Drucker promoted MBO back in 1954, but he believed that 90% of the time no enterprise knows the objectives. However, he suggested that "the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer." Isn't that the objective? The true problem lies in the ability to reach alignment within the internal organization. Alignment is the ability to speak common language. If A speaks X, and B speaks Y, but the VMV (Vision, Mission, Value) is Z, then even with clear and specific objective, nobody is going to get anything done.
Management by Walking Around (MBWA)
Since the introduction of e-communication such as email and instant messaging, how much time does one spend on travelling along the electronic highway? 50%? 75%? Or more? Almost everyone has forgotten the value of interpersonal communication. People even get married in the cyber-world.
Although e-communication helps save time in physical communications, nobody really saves anytime in absolute terms as time spent on clearing junk increases. This implies that e-communication does not bring effectiveness but only efficiency.
Fact is, spontaneous, hands-on contact is more effective than e-communication. Everybody acknowledges this simple fact, but almost nobody is able to practice it.
MBWA usually goes together with an open-door management policy, which is quite rare nowadays. Alas!
Management by Fear (MBF)
"People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters." Bill Gates
It is simply not fair to label anyone as a management-by-fear manager. There really is nothing wrong with MBF as long as the receiver accepts the approach. After all, nobody can control how the ball is being thrown, but everybody can decide how to react. This is an attitude issue. Look below the surface, as the truth usually hides from it. Listen not to the tone but what is not said. Eliminate anything irrelevant but absorb everything relevant. Drucker said "the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said." Of course, listening is more effective than hearing.
Let's be the "fish" in the Zhuang Zi's world.
One day Zhuang Zi and Hui Zi are strolling on Bridge Hao.
Zhuang says, "Look how happy the fish are just swimming around in the river."
Hui challenges, "How do you know they are happy? You are not a fish."
Zhuang replies, "And you are not me. How do you know I don't know the fish are happy."
Hui continues, "Of course I'm not you, and I don't know what you think; but I do know that you are not a fish, and so you couldn't possibly know the fish are happy."
Zhuang concludes, "Look, when you asked me how I knew the fish were happy, you already knew that I knew the fish were happy. I knew it from my feelings standing on this bridge."
Finis
"Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust." Zig Ziglar
Almost anyone can identify unlimited problems, but only a limited few can provide the right solutions.
Ziglar identifies five obstacles, so what's next? Nobody knows, because he hasn't provided solutions yet. Unless someone pinpoints the problems, and comes up with practical answers on how to tackle the Ziglar's five obstacles, it's not difficult to continue drilling in Ziglar's insights.
- Are the 5 basic obstacles enough?
- Are there really no other basic obstacles?
- Is there any priority ranking among the five obstacles?
- Which obstacle should have higher proprity?
- et cetera
Asking questions encourages thinking. Without thinking, everyone is just like a robot. However, too much thinking involves day dreaming, and nothing gets solved at the end of the day. Never leave a question unanswered. The one who raises the question actually has the responsibility to make sure that the question is brought to the public's attention, and that it will eventually be solved.
Only start something if it will be brought to a completion. Otherwise, don't ever start it! This is about positive touchpoint experience.
Be a solution creator, but never a problem dictator.
Almost anyone can identify unlimited problems, but only a limited few can provide the right solutions.
Ziglar identifies five obstacles, so what's next? Nobody knows, because he hasn't provided solutions yet. Unless someone pinpoints the problems, and comes up with practical answers on how to tackle the Ziglar's five obstacles, it's not difficult to continue drilling in Ziglar's insights.
- Are the 5 basic obstacles enough?
- Are there really no other basic obstacles?
- Is there any priority ranking among the five obstacles?
- Which obstacle should have higher proprity?
- et cetera
Asking questions encourages thinking. Without thinking, everyone is just like a robot. However, too much thinking involves day dreaming, and nothing gets solved at the end of the day. Never leave a question unanswered. The one who raises the question actually has the responsibility to make sure that the question is brought to the public's attention, and that it will eventually be solved.
Only start something if it will be brought to a completion. Otherwise, don't ever start it! This is about positive touchpoint experience.
Be a solution creator, but never a problem dictator.
06 June 2006
Touchpoint eXperience Management
Objective
Touchpoint eXperience Management (TXM) is about managing touchpoint experience.
Enterprise wins when Touchpoint eXperience Excellence (TXE) is achieved both internally and externally. TXE is achieved when Right Done Right (RDR). Internal TXE (iTXE) strengthens the enterprise's ability to achieve external TXE (eTXE). Winning is defined as the ability to maintain sustainable growth in the long run.
Defintion
A touchpoint is every point of interaction, internal and external, seen and unseen. Internal touchpoint refers to every point of interaction within an internal organization. External refers to every touchpoint between the enterprise and the external market. An experience is a subjective feeling about the interactions of one individual with the event, the deliverable, and with other individual.
Touchpoint eXperience (TX) is "the resullt of interaction of one person with other person, information, and deliverable through feeling (see, hear, touch, taste, smell), thinking and hiring."
Elements
There are 3 types of Touchpoint, which are also the critical success factors affecting experience.
- People (P)
- Information (I)
- Deliverables (D)
There are 3 types of Experience.
- Positive
- Indifferent
- Negative
Positive TX arises when PID provides experience beyond expectations; indifferent when meet; and negative when below.
Touchpoint eXperience Management (TXM) is about managing touchpoint experience.
Enterprise wins when Touchpoint eXperience Excellence (TXE) is achieved both internally and externally. TXE is achieved when Right Done Right (RDR). Internal TXE (iTXE) strengthens the enterprise's ability to achieve external TXE (eTXE). Winning is defined as the ability to maintain sustainable growth in the long run.
Defintion
A touchpoint is every point of interaction, internal and external, seen and unseen. Internal touchpoint refers to every point of interaction within an internal organization. External refers to every touchpoint between the enterprise and the external market. An experience is a subjective feeling about the interactions of one individual with the event, the deliverable, and with other individual.
Touchpoint eXperience (TX) is "the resullt of interaction of one person with other person, information, and deliverable through feeling (see, hear, touch, taste, smell), thinking and hiring."
Elements
There are 3 types of Touchpoint, which are also the critical success factors affecting experience.
- People (P)
- Information (I)
- Deliverables (D)
There are 3 types of Experience.
- Positive
- Indifferent
- Negative
Positive TX arises when PID provides experience beyond expectations; indifferent when meet; and negative when below.
04 June 2006
The Sound of Silence
"The worst sound in our business is silence. That means they don't care." Vince McMahon
It is better for a customer to voice out his or her concern than nothing at all. Result is achieved through communication. Without communication, nothing gets done. Silence is golden? Empty vessels make the most sound? Not quite.
If the customer is willing to file a complaint against the product or service quality, it means the customer still cares. The opposite of love is not hate, because the emotion of hate still involves passion. The opposite of love is apathy. When the customer becomes indifferent to whatever the enterprise has to offer, it is destined to be doomed. Same applies to internal organization.
A complaint is actually a gift. To the sender, it is a negative touchpoint experience; but to the receiver, it is in fact a chance to learn how to improve and deliver future positive touchpoint experience.
It is better for a customer to voice out his or her concern than nothing at all. Result is achieved through communication. Without communication, nothing gets done. Silence is golden? Empty vessels make the most sound? Not quite.
If the customer is willing to file a complaint against the product or service quality, it means the customer still cares. The opposite of love is not hate, because the emotion of hate still involves passion. The opposite of love is apathy. When the customer becomes indifferent to whatever the enterprise has to offer, it is destined to be doomed. Same applies to internal organization.
A complaint is actually a gift. To the sender, it is a negative touchpoint experience; but to the receiver, it is in fact a chance to learn how to improve and deliver future positive touchpoint experience.
02 June 2006
Give & Take
Win-win situation is achieved when there is give-and-take from start to completion of the deliverable cycle.
If the sender keeps sending message to the receiver (giving), but the receiver provides no feedback to the sender in return (taking), the sender will eventually get annoyed and deliver negative touchpoint experience. The process is going to repeat itself. The sender is unhappy because of the receiver's FUD, and the receiver's never-ending FUD is going to drive the sender crazy. It is simply a vicious cycle, and eventually everything will result in dead-end. (FUD is an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.)
Give-and-take is a feedback system, with emphasis on mutual contribution. Only one person wins if there is an imbalance between give and take. Whenever there is a give, there has to be a take. This is the concept of ROI, or Return On Investment. Nobody would invest in something that has an expected value of zero. Win-win is about the art of balancing.
Touchpoint eXperience Excellence is acheived when the golden mean is maintained between extremes and the golden rule is observed.
01 June 2006
Forgiveness
Real forgiveness does not keep track of forgiveness. It is simply about forgive and forget. Simply forgive the offenses. Forget about the number of times of forgiving.
In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asks Jesus how many times he is to forgive someone who wrongs him, and if seven times is enough. Jesus’ answer is seventy-seven times, or 490. What does that mean? It is meaningless to keep counting. Even if there is an attempt to keep counting, it is easy to loose count. Learn to give up and let go of anger before forgiveness enters the heart. Just forgive without asking anything in return. Forgiving is not about doing the sinner a favor but the forgiver. The eye-for-an-eye mindset will only result in a never-ending cycle that will lead to nowhere.
People always remember negative touchpoint experience. They take positive touchpoint experience for granted. When the deliverables are not up to expectations, they will get upset, and immediately recall all previous negative touchpoint experiences to reinforce the negative impact. Bad thoughts and intentions always drive out the good ones.
Although it's inevitable to control this, try to drop the hatred and forget about the history. History is for learning from the past and improve, but definitely not for using as a tool to ruin the future.
Let bygones be bygones.
In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asks Jesus how many times he is to forgive someone who wrongs him, and if seven times is enough. Jesus’ answer is seventy-seven times, or 490. What does that mean? It is meaningless to keep counting. Even if there is an attempt to keep counting, it is easy to loose count. Learn to give up and let go of anger before forgiveness enters the heart. Just forgive without asking anything in return. Forgiving is not about doing the sinner a favor but the forgiver. The eye-for-an-eye mindset will only result in a never-ending cycle that will lead to nowhere.
People always remember negative touchpoint experience. They take positive touchpoint experience for granted. When the deliverables are not up to expectations, they will get upset, and immediately recall all previous negative touchpoint experiences to reinforce the negative impact. Bad thoughts and intentions always drive out the good ones.
Although it's inevitable to control this, try to drop the hatred and forget about the history. History is for learning from the past and improve, but definitely not for using as a tool to ruin the future.
Let bygones be bygones.
Adjective + Experience
There are only 3 types of experience, namely, positive, neutral and negative. However, there are many ways to describe the experience.
Positive
Good experience
Compelling experience
Impressive experience
Unforgettable experience
Satisfactory experience
Enjoyable experience
Wow experience
Worthwhile experience
Negative
Bad experience
Hair-raising experience
Thrilling experience
Terrible experience
Dissatisfactory experience
Shitty experience
Damned experience
Breathtaking experience
Experience is a subjective feeling. Words sometimes just can't describe. The simplest form is therefore positive, neutral and negative.
Positive
Good experience
Compelling experience
Impressive experience
Unforgettable experience
Satisfactory experience
Enjoyable experience
Wow experience
Worthwhile experience
Negative
Bad experience
Hair-raising experience
Thrilling experience
Terrible experience
Dissatisfactory experience
Shitty experience
Damned experience
Breathtaking experience
Experience is a subjective feeling. Words sometimes just can't describe. The simplest form is therefore positive, neutral and negative.
Priority
"Nothing gets better until someone really actually does something." Daryl R Gibson
Everything has to be done, sooner or later. But what is the everything?
One has to define the task purpose before identifying what should be on the priority list. Why in the first place the task should exist? If the task exists for no reason, then it shouldn't exist at all. If it has to be existed for whatever reason, then even if the task is completed with result, the result has no value. When the number of tasks accumulates and multiplies, what should be done first becomes a problem. This is about priority.
Things should get done first when they will either shorten the time to success, or they will directly affect the results of the task, meaning that if the task is not done first, or at a later stage, the overall result will be negatively affected.
Setting priority is an art. The rule of thumb is to relate priority to critical success factor.
Everything has to be done, sooner or later. But what is the everything?
One has to define the task purpose before identifying what should be on the priority list. Why in the first place the task should exist? If the task exists for no reason, then it shouldn't exist at all. If it has to be existed for whatever reason, then even if the task is completed with result, the result has no value. When the number of tasks accumulates and multiplies, what should be done first becomes a problem. This is about priority.
Things should get done first when they will either shorten the time to success, or they will directly affect the results of the task, meaning that if the task is not done first, or at a later stage, the overall result will be negatively affected.
Setting priority is an art. The rule of thumb is to relate priority to critical success factor.
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