True Business 'Focus'

I have been enjoying recent studies regarding ‘quality’. I have also been engaged in conversation as late as today regarding this general concept.

I enjoy these conversations about quality. I find myself coming back to the same point of view each time I discuss any aspect of business. This point can be referred to in the form of the question, “What does the customer expect?” I hear many heated discussions in business on a variety of topics. One thing that always seems to amaze me is the lack of input from the ‘customer’s point of view’. Decisions are made each day. Quality control programs are put into place. Teams of people are assembled. Money is spent but all too often the customer’s input is excluded from the scope of our ‘quality endeavors’.

So what……… if we make a gadget that is designed to withstand a nuclear blast. The question should be, “Does the customer expect a gadget that can withstand a nuclear blast? Innovation does not have to come from within every time. We should solicit our customers for feedback. Every once in a while in life the ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy will work. (if you are Steve Jobs) However, more often than not, we could simply ask the customer what they prefer in terms of future projects and skip a lot of the ‘wasted motion’ that occurs in between. Too often we view the customer as the ‘sucker on the receiving end of a transaction’ and not as a true business partner. Successful customers create successful suppliers. In this age of web-based highly enlightened people……..the end user has again become King. Quite frankly, it is nice to see the priorities aligned as they should be once again.

kml

2009