90% of executives around the world have said in a June 2020 McKinsey survey<\/a> they expect the fallout from COVID-19 to fundamentally change the way they do business over the next five years, with almost as many asserting that the crisis will have a lasting impact on their customers\u2019 needs. From retail to communication services and Pharma and consumer goods, leaders are seeing themselves weigh cutting costs, driving productivity, and implementing safety measures against supporting innovation-led growth. Anyone anywhere has seen their business change one way or another because of the pandemic, but every crisis presents opportunities, and this one is no different, no matter what you’re doing.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to be a leader through these disruptive times, but it\u2019s also the best time to engage workers in a purpose that is bigger than profits, bigger than shareholder value, bigger than the company itself, says Don Peppers, American customer experience authority, keynote speaker and business author.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLeaders have to be the story-tellers who paint a picture of this more trusting, purpose-driven future for their business,\u201d he said to CEO Magazine. \u201cOnly when everyone is united behind a mission that transcends the business model can an organization begin to let go of the \u201crules and algorithms\u201d operating method, and begin to trust workers. Workers who are enthused by the mission will do their best to achieve it. Research has even shown that such workers are more likely to break the rules when necessary to achieve the mission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Though the pandemic has evidence large problemas and divisions in all regions, and leaders face an important choice around supporting innovation-led growth in the short term, one that may have lasting consequences for their companies\u2019 ability to grow in the years to come, for Don, the COVID-19 re-think is opening opportunities towards motivating companies to plan a new strategy toward their customer relationships, and to focus not just on short-term profits but on long-term customer loyalty and shareholder value, calling for forward-thinking companies that see human beings and not algorithms, ones that practice empathy, a natural human instinct that the pandemic dramatically\u00a0 brought out in most of us. \u201cAfter all,\u201d he says, \u201cwithout customers you don\u2019t have a business. All you have is a hobby, unfortunately, empathy is often undermined by authority-heavy, top-down business organizations trying to operate more efficiently by employing rules and algorithms, rather than taking the risk of trusting their own workers to \u201cdo the right thing. However, empathy is the primary objective of \u201ccustomer insight\u201d \u2013 you want to know what it\u2019s like to BE the customer, to think the customer\u2019s own thoughts, and to feel the customer\u2019s own feelings, but more than that, empathy is what you generate when you empower your employees to interact and engage with customers, human-to-human.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Looking back at the principles and ideas he first wrote about in 1993 with customer strategist Martha Rogers on how businesses would have to operate differently once technology finally enabled computer-mediated, one-to-one interactions with individual customers, there is not much difference with all that has become particularly relevant because of the pandemic, as the interactive future that they first imagined would come to life through social media groups and remote working in a time where data and information have become so valuable for enterprises everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf anything,\u201d Don states, \u201cthe COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated the trend toward remote working. It\u2019s usually better to be a smaller company with more flexibility and resilience in a time of crisis because as a general rule larger companies find it harder to adapt to new circumstances. However, I think the \u201cagile management\u201d methods pioneered originally in software development and startups, but now widely popular in a variety of business situations, can be extremely useful in helping any company \u2013 large or small \u2013 to navigate the paradigm-shifting threat represented by this pandemic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The times mean a defining moment for leaders as they reset the workforce, and under the Don Peppers vision, vacancy is open for a truly customer-centric firm leader, one that will constantly accumulate more expertise in customer centricity, communicate and live by customer-centric values, measure success based on the customer value created (as opposed to short-term profits), cross boundaries for enterprise-wide results, make regular, direct contact with customers, and focus on incremental projects and \u201cquick wins\u201d to demonstrate progress.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite challenges never before faced, business survival and even growth are possible with an approach that values talent as a key asset that contributes to an organization\u2019s sustained value creation. Shaping people strategies towards creating a better way to communicate with customers is going to the best way to face the Great Reset and collectively build a more fair, sustainable and resilient future.<\/span><\/p>\nBecoming the leader that is needed<\/b><\/h1>\n
\nBe part of WOBI\u00a0on Customer Centricity<\/b><\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ceo-na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Image-WOCC-1-1-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"