The document discusses the value of human potential in business, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and customer focus as demonstrated by companies like Southwest Airlines and Nordstrom. It highlights key principles from successful customer service practices that prioritize employee autonomy and judgment. The overall theme reflects the necessity of fostering a humanistic culture within organizations to drive better customer experiences.

1. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010 1
Peter Merholz
President, Adaptive Path
e: peterme@adaptivepath.com
t: @peterme
The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential
September 2010

2. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

3. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

4. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

5. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

6. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

7. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
BusinessWeek’s 2010 “Customer Service Champs”

8. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

9. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
Photo of whiteboard from sessionPhoto of whiteboard from session

10. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Win
Win
Lose
Lose
CUSTOMERS
BUSINESS
YAY!

11. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
CUSTOMERS
/EMPLOYEES
MANAGEMENT

12. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame

13. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
27. Southwest
35. JetBlue
55. Continental
79. Delta
85. United
113. Northwest
121. US Airways
Forrester’s 2010 Customer Experience Index

14. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
“Colleen [Barrett] is primarily responsible for the humanistic culture
that we have at Southwest today...One of the really significant
things she did was give our people on the front line a lot of
flexibility. Basically, she ascertained that we could not anticipate
every situation that would evolve in a given station at a passenger
terminal. Therefore, she told our employees--and meant it--that
as long as you are leaning toward the customer, you are OK... They
did not need to ask permission from anybody to do so.”
Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines

15. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Rule #1: Use best judgment in all situations.
There will be no additional rules.
from Nordstrom’s Employee Handbook

16. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
Slide from CEO Reed Hasting’s “Culture” presentation

17. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
ForeSee Results Top 100 Retail Satisfaction Index 2010

18. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Image Frame
Blockbuster Video
Netflix

19. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Trust

20. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Human Potential?

21. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010
Potential to
be Human

22. The Economist, Ideas Economy: Human Potential September 2010 22
Thank you!
e: peterme@adaptivepath.com
t: @peterme