ryantxr

This is directed at CEOs.

Steve Jobs is well known for answering email from the general public.  He engages.  Do you?  Anecdotes abound of Ross Perot when he ran EDS doing the same thing in a different way.  One story that struck me was when he toured a plant that used EDS systems.  He gave out his personal phone number to individuals and told them to call him if they ran into issue and could not get them resolved.  Late one Friday night, he got such a call.  Perot took the call and initiated steps to getting the issue resolved.  He wasn't too busy. He wasn't bothered that some person on an assembly line decided to call him on his personal line on a Friday night.

Too many CEOs are disconnected from actual people who have suggestions or problems with their companies.  The thing is that there are individuals out there who want to help.  What they have to say may not always be what you Mr. CEO want to hear.  They may whine or complain about some feature that may be very difficult to change for very little pay off.  You may not have a good answer for them.

I'm going negative for a moment Mr. CEO.  If you don't want to provide a forum for individuals to voice their ideas or frustrations, they will find one.  And these days, it means the Internet.  If this goes viral, you now have a much bigger problem on your hands. 

A company I worked for had several huge clients.  They set up a client advisory board which met twice a year to help guide the company where those clients most needed it.

The bottom line is that companies should be listening to and interacting with its customers and users.  I had an issue with AT&T which I complained about on Twitter.  AT&T responded on Twitter.  They were listening.  They responded.  Try complaining about Comcast on Twitter.  They will respond.

The chinese symbol for crisis is also the symbol for opportunity.  Things in life don't always go smoothly.  That is a given.  What is different between good and great is how someone responds. What do you do about it?  That is what you, Mr. CEO should be asking.