Are You Turning Business Away?
A few weeks ago, I took a fabulous trip to London with my daughter, Anna. It was the perfect opportunity to provide on-the-job mentoring, exposure to some of the best consultants in the business, and an introduction to the charm of a first-rate European city.
Anna joined me in a full day session with Alan Weiss, the “rock star of consulting” along with sales strategy superstar Colleen Francis and executive advisor extraordinaire, Andy Bass, plus a dozen other impressive global experts. As a bonus, we arrived in London just in time to enjoy the excitement and city-wide preparation for the Big Day, the royal wedding of Harry and Meghan.
Our flight from Philadelphia was an overnight venture. To improve our odds of getting some sleep, we traveled Business Class. It was a relaxing trip, with stellar attention by the staff of British Airways, good food, and comfortable accommodations. And so, we decided the return trip was worth an upgrade from World Traveler to Business Class.
When we arrived at our departure gate, we inquired about the upgrade, only to be told that the gate wasn’t equipped to take payment and that we’d need to go up to the lounge to make the change. No problem. Up we went. To our surprise, the agents at the lounge informed us that our request was too close to departure to be accommodated. Meal service had already been sorted out and couldn’t be changed. And so, British Airways turned away the opportunity to take our cash and left us with a sense of disappointment. I couldn’t help but wonder, how often does this airline turn business away?
As a strategic advisor to the C-suite and senior leadership teams, I help my clients make smart business decisions, increase revenue, and accelerate growth. We work together to ensure their customers are happy, loyal, and cheerleaders for the brand. And I help them ensure they aren’t leaving good business on the table. If I were working with the CEO of British Air, I’d advise him to look at all the ways his company was inadvertently turning business away, diluting the customer experience, and potentially damaging company repute. I’d encourage him to gather his key leaders and front-line staff to explore the issues, confront the question
“What’s holding us back?”
and then rapidly fix the problem.
How often do you and your team take a deliberate, strategic pause to reflect on what’s
holding you back from being as exceptionally successful as you’d like?
I’d suggest you have these conversations consistently, bringing in a wide variety of stakeholders and considering myriad points of view. Ask your senior leaders and customer-facing staff what the issues are… and solicit solutions that can be quickly adopted.
Don’t neglect to ask the question: Are we turning business away? Why and how? And how do we close the gaps…
fast
?
If you’d like to explore ways to lead your organization to the next level, pivot to get ahead of a changing landscape, and grow twice as fast as you’re growing today, get in touch with me. This is some the most exciting work I do, and I’m always amazed at the extraordinary progress my clients achieve every single day!
I’d love to hear from you!
