Funnel, Filter, Guru.

Not only has the availability of information has moved the needle from the haystack out into the field; it's also a smaller needle.

The streams of information are flowing past us on all sides rather than neatly unfolding on the table beside a cup of coffee, and the key-points summary is taking center stage. There's not so much discussion of "sound-bites" anymore because it's the status quo. Other things equal, a three-minute youtube video gets more hits than a ten-minute one.

What about the whole truth and nothing but the truth? No time. Tell me the main points. And remember, the more concise the summary, the greater the need to trust the summarizer. Your trusted-advisor status is on the line, every time.

Blago's whole truth is more than 500 hours long. You're going to have to leave something out when you tell that story. The jury decides what's relevant.

John Wooden's truth was a seven-point creed from his father, which he carried around with him in his wallet. The New York Times thought seven points was a bit wordy, and made it even more concise. (They later retracted their redactions.)

There's an art to boiling things down to the relevant facts, not the ones that are important to you but the ones that are important to your listeners. Nothing less. Or more.

Whether you're talking to your kids or presenting to the board of directors, remember you're the funnel, filter and guru.

Ironic Choices

There's a certain irony in offering silly choices.  Does anyone press the "No, I don't want a receipt" button at the gas pump, or press 9 when they want to hang up the phone?

Then there's the irony of offering a choice that doesn't really exist.  A proud union member is issued his obligatory bumper sticker "Union - Yes" with a picture of a check box.  Of course "Yes" is the only vote there is.  If you want the job, you're in the union.

This kind of irony has left Detroit in a bad way these days.  The UAW, in its upward-ratcheting need for self-perpetuation, call the shots like Rod Effen Blagojevich's wife screaming vulgarities in the background of his now famous phone calls.  "Labor demands" are not balanced with any "labor accountability" for performance.  The CEO's are up in front of Congress, but the shrewish-wife union bosses are in the wings telling them why they can't make those concessions.  

This situation is aggravated by a poor economy, but the latest reviews of the big three show a continuing lack of competitiveness.  Depending on blind patriotic loyalty from your customers more than competitive excellence in a free market is rather unpatriotic.  

So is pretending there's a choice where there isn't.

Wait - he's taking my money?

Not long ago, I had a very smart (PhD) C-level executive tell me, "One thing we don't need on our home page is a bookmark button. I think people already know how to bookmark something." 

He could only have thought this by disbelieving or ignoring the advantage of custom bookmarks/feeds to your reader and the widespread use of bookmarking icons across the footers of literally thousands of web sites.  He let the relative simplicity of the tool's sophistication obscure the fact that for most people it has a high level of everyday usefulness.

The truth is we're all myopic in some way or another. It's dangerous to insulate yourself with your success (or degree/or title). A political heiress may need someone to tell her she's not cut out for the job. A governor may need someone to tell him that an FBI wiretap is probably not capricious. A pastor may need someone to point out that the huge slide about "Calvanism" should actually be spelled "Calvinism" (at least by the time the third service rolls around). 

Faithful are the wounds of a friend - even if she might not invite you to her Martha's Vineyard bash this New Year's Eve.

A very happy and safe new year to all of you, and all the best in 2009.  If you're a praying person, say one for me - I'll return the favor.

The Five Levels of Customer Service

Customer service and marketing are joined at the hip -- if you do a remarkable job in the area of customer experience, good marketing gets the word out. If not, your marketing efforts have little to talk about. Here are five levels of customer service I've experienced recently:

1. "Over the top service is what we're about." (Lands' End) - I talked to Mary who answered after two rings. It was like talking to my long-lost aunt or grandmother. She was friendly, helpful, a good communicator, answered all my questions, and graciously transferred me only when it was necessary - one transfer to talk with another (friendly, helpful, gracious) lady in accounts, with very little wait time.

2. "We do value our customers." (Dell) - Gets the transaction done politely. I started online in spite of the ambiguous choices on the order-screen; called back later when the part was wrong, made three re-explanations of the fairly simple problem. After four transfers and longer waits, was finally offered the correct part. There was no expression of intent to correct the original online problem for future customers, but no charge for the wrong order and no need for me to send it back. I got two calls back to make sure I had received the credit to my account.

3. "We know customer service is important." (Citibank) - A sincere but hollow claim of concern for the customer. After many rings, the voice intones, "We've added more features for your convenience - you must now press one to continue in English." Just to see what would happen, I wait. Again the voice declares, "You must now press one to continue in English." OK, I press one. After a short pause, "For your convenience, we are open from 7:30-4:30 EST. Our offices are now closed."

4. "Hey, we got a business to run here." (Biggers Auto Dealership) - Bordering between apathetic and hostile. I e-mailed this local dealership about a part through their web site, including my VIN, and got an immediate auto-response, "We value your business, etc... we will be in touch,..." I waited a month and called - the service department is closed on Saturdays. (No one would want to get their car fixed on a Saturday, right?) I e-mailed again to a different person who told me I needed to send the VIN again. I did and mentioned I had already included it with my original request a month ago. No comment - just the price. (Did you know there are ten ways to apologize to your customer?)

5. "Next!" (DMV) Customers-Serve-Us. Of course state and local government has no real competition and responds to customers accordingly. Lines, forms, carbon copies, white out, attach this other form, 7-10 days response -- customer service is when you can buy a $40 transponder to make it easier for you to pay Rod Blagojevich to build more toll booths. Some businesses go this direction but they don't last long.

Which level of service is your company on and how are you working to get to the next one?