Getting Past Ego to Reach Customers

I just finished reading Spencer Johnson, M.D.’s new book Peaks and Valleys.  Just like the One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese, the book is set up in a story format to share the great insights of the author. 

Basically the book is about how we view the peaks and valleys of our life; at work and in our personal life. By dwelling on the negative, blowing fear out of proportion and letting our ego get in the way of reality; valleys loom larger and more daunting than necessary.

In one example in the book the wise one man on the peak tells the story of a once great company:

“When I was younger, I worked for a very large and famous company. We provided a great service at a good price-the best in out industry. Then our costs rose and the economy took a turn for the worse. Our service cost us more to provide and soon fewer people could afford it. Sales fell, but due to our fame, management believed they could simply ride out the bad time. The reality of course, was that we needed to change. But they didn’t see this, because their arrogance had made them complacent. Eventually we lost most of our customers and had to sell the business.”

“So what did you do?” the young man asked.

“I asked myself, what is the truth in this situation? The truth was that we were not making our customers happy.”

I love this example.  The point of the story is so simple.  WE WEREN’T MAKING OUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY. The company became too big for its britches, as my Grandma would say, and because they weren’t willing to set aside ego and look at how they might change to stay a viable solution for their customer, they became extinct.

The book goes on to talk about how to view the valleys of life in a more realistic, sensible way and to appreciate the gifts we have even in our hard times.  And when we are on top of the world to make sure we don’t get too full of ourselves and simply enjoy every moment for the gift that it is.

It is a quick read and has lessons that can be applied to all walks of life.  I’d recommend giving it a read.