How a customer focus could solve even the most unexpected organisational challenges.

I’ve recently spoken for a series of very different organisations with one thing in common – they’re all going through massive upheaval, change and disruption. All multi million dollar brands. All facing unprecedented challenges.

One business had its entire manufacturing model obliterated due to legislative change.

Another was a franchise group dealing with the sudden and unexpected death of its founder.

And last week I spoke to over 800 delegates whose brand has been badly damaged by a series of extremely negative media stories.

Learning about these challenges and understanding the impact they were having on team morale within each of these businesses and industries as part of the briefing process made me wonder whether the client was better off booking a motivational speaker or an someone who could share an inspirational story of overcoming a setback, grief or a massive life adversity.

But I accepted the challenge with the objective of unifying each of the audiences with a common focus on their customers. The strategy worked and the impact was profound. The mood and energy that was (understandably) focused on adversity, setback and grief in each of these audiences was replaced with possibility, blue-sky thinking and positivity.

Even in times of heartache, a genuine, hand-on-heart care for customers can be a shining light that shows a way forward.

What I learned throughout this process is that inspiring an entire team (or industry) to embark on a journey of ‘Radical Customer Obsession’ and get them truly excited about the potential of creating or contributing to epic customer experiences fosters an optimistic focus on process improvement. It also encourages collaboration and mutual respect within a team for the role that everyone plays in the customer experience.

Could a customer experience workshop be the ultimate team building exercise for your people? Let’s chat about it so I can learn more and give you some ideas on how to create a culture of collaboration.