This document discusses how arrogance and resistance to change can become weaknesses for successful organizations. It provides examples of executives who ignored or dismissed customer feedback that contradicted their own views. The document suggests that these organizations failed to recognize how customers' needs and preferences were changing. By not adapting to changes in the market and continuing to view themselves as experts rather than listening to customers, these organizations lost customers to competitors. The document advises organizations to view things from the customer's perspective and anticipate how to stay aligned with a changing marketplace. It warns that resistance to change can result in competitors attracting away an organization's customers if it is not addressing what customers truly value.

1. The Case of
Missing
Customer

2. 1.
When Prior
Strengths
Become Your
Weaknesses

3. Deadly sins of successful organizations
• Arrogance
• Resistance to change

4. ar·ro·gance
• an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in
presumptuous claims or assumptions
• Find more about here:
http://articles.businessinsider.com/keyword/arrogance

5. Exercise 1. Put some text below this cartoon to illustrate
you view about business arrogance

6. re·sist·ing (to change)
• to remain strong against the force or effect of change : to not be
affected or harmed by change

7. Exercise 2. Put some text below this cartoon to illustrate
you view about resistance to change

8. Things to reflect to
• “… they had little or no regard for direct customer feedback when it conflicted with
their own views or prior customer experiences.
• When someone cited desires, issues, or concerns raised by their customers, the
executives often countered with their own personal beliefs and discredited or
belittled what their customers had said.”

9. Things to reflect to
As an example, when told that in their deteriorating marketplace consumers visiting an
automobile showroom tend to immediately examine a car’s coffee-cup holders, a top
auto exec retorted, “We build cars for driving, not for drinking coffee.” The
correctness of his (internal) view was supported by vigorous head-nods around the
board table. At that moment a chart could be seen on the wall behind, from one of their
industry’s most respected consumer research firms, which screamed that seven out of
ten of this firm’s customers would not return.
Silly customers. We know best.
So, what was the problem? Who had stolen their customers? (And why did they
leave?)
Pogo knew. We have met the enemy and he is us.

10. What about a new viewpoint of a successful
company
“An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that
maximizes individuals’ growth and elicits maximum concerted human potential in the
wholehearted service of others.”
Read this
http://www.tompeters.com/blogs/freestuff/uploads/ChangeThis_EnterpriseAtBest.pdf
We will use many things from this manifesto!

11. Join the course group on facebook and start discussing
and sharing your thoughts about the following topics

12. Now, what if you’re the customer?
• What really entice you?
• What can move you later to change suppliers?
• How would you feel about a supplier who continued to play the role
of expert and expected you to remain only a passive user/recipient?

13. Mirror, mirror…
• What about your customers?
• What were the strengths that originally made your company a
success in their perception?

14. Mirror, mirror…
• How are you developing your essential competencies in order to
stay aligned with a changing marketplace? How does your
organization listen to customers and make them the tireless focal
point for the design of products, services, and customer-facing
processes?
• How does your company sense the changes in the marketplace and
what your customers value, and then respond to those? How does
your firm anticipate and prepare for those, in advance?

15. Mirror, mirror…
• When you are a customer, you know what moves you today to
change vendors.
• What if you were your customer? Could you be easily stolen away?
• What if you were your competitor? What might you do to attract
away customers?
• If you aren’t doing those things today, who is the enemy
responsible for your lost customers tomorrow?

16. End of module essay
2 pages max

17. Customers describing their
service experience as “superior”:
8%
Companies describing
the service experience they
provide as
“superior”: 80%
—Source: Bain & Company survey of 362 companies, reported in John DiJulius,
What's the Secret to Providing a World-class Customer Experience?