Just Do The Right Thing

I am getting tired of the conversation around optimizing leads and finding the calculated ROI of community and social media efforts. When did business leaders abandon the ability to just do the right thing? 

• The right thing by customers (if they have a question...why are you charging them for calls?)
• The right thing by employees (give them credit, opportunity, and encouragement instead of treating them like disposable widgets)
• The right thing by partners (tell them about problems sooner rather than doing damage control later)

Many business decisions do not need calculated proof to know that they are right. In fact, I think models get us into more trouble then not....and the cost of all of that data collection and analysis is outstanding. It's cheaper to just do the right thing...most of you know what that is so? Just do the right thing. Stop the analysis, stop the wondering if you are right, stop the endless hand wringing, and more than anything stop the fear that you don't have 'proof' that something works. Just do the right thing.

Part of my passion around social media comes from wanting us as a business community to start treating each other like humans again rather than protagonists in a plot that can be compartmentalized as 'just business'. Turns out consumers would like to be treated like humans too. And maybe that is too much to hope for - there are a lot of people out there who believe that they can't win unless someone else loses - but that is not the environment in which I want to spend my life.

I think businesses have completely forgotten that at the end of the day they are just like my corner drycleaner who looks out for customers by looking over cloths, recommending sometimes that it is better to clean something by hand at home, knows most customers by name, rings you up if you have orphaned your clothes for too long, and feels a vested interest in participating in the community because he knows that the community is what makes his business successful.  And my drycleaner does not need a model to tell him to do any of those things.

And no, I am not entirely against tracking metrics - I just think we've used them as a cruch for so long that we have forgotten how to think for ourselves and use our judgement to solve problems. And sure, it is easier - you can blame the data if your data-driven decision somehow doesn't turn out well - but is that the best leadership we can hope for?

Like the post? Please Tweet it with this link! http://tinyurl.com/8nuukp

Comments

[Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius]

"Analysis paralysis"... most of us have heard this term before. There is a time and place for KPIs, ROIs, procedures, policies and etc (I am business operations person, I am all about those metrics and guidelines). At the end of the day, you can't become Zappos, Google, Opera, and other great companies if you hide behind numbers and formulas.
If your people are not encouraged AND rewarded for doing the right thing... well than don't be surprised when competitor poaches your customers in droves.

Rachel, I hope you will write more articles with as much passion as this one. There is a level of evangelism needed for mainstream businesses to "get it" some day.

Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius
http://twitter.com/apsinkus

[Penina]

Thanks for saying this, Rachel. It certainly needed to be said! My current (large corporate) client seems to speak only in $$, but it's me that needs to step back, stop buying in so completely, and remember that I'm still working with human beings. I need to be realistic and speak in financial terms, but it's also appropriate to trust.

[Matt Roche]

I have been a CEO for over 12 years. In each company, we have done the right thing to the best of my ability.

However, I have discovered in working with clients that doing the right thing is inevitably more expensive and uncertain than spending more on marketing and lobbying.

The longer you can continue doing the *same* thing, and selling it better, the more profits you wil l make. Sure, the chickens come to roost eventually, but that is what monopolies and bailouts are for.

[Jen Zingsheim]

Balance is truly the key. A while ago, I worked for a national retailer of high-ish end furniture. "Do the right thing" was a core part of the training for every employee, and all, even the seasonal holiday staff, were pretty empowered to do the right thing for customers. What some saw as giving away the store (no-hassle return policy, even on furniture) made for happy customers.

Problem was that some just saw the direct hit on the daily bottom line instead of the "ok, the client returned that sofa, but they were happy with the experience (and quality) and might be back to buy a dining set" or whatever, they became fixated on making up the revenue number, sometimes making bad decisions because of it.

Metrics are important, but any time people get *too* wrapped up in numbers, they can sometimes start to miss the bigger picture.

Like so much in life, balance is key. Your point about personalizing business is important. I heard an interesting story on NPR last night about a guy who is spending an entire year not buying anything that he can't put a face behind. Very interesting experiment. I think social media can serve as an extension of this, if used correctly.

[Matt Roche]

To clarify my point above - I will still choose to do the right thing (when I know what it is!), but I believe that it is not rational to expect that all CEOs will given what I described above.

[Rachel Happe]

Hi Matt/Jen - thanks for stopping by and leaving your perspective.

I think I'm struggling with something that many senior executives struggle with as well - which, as Matt alludes to, what is the right thing in certain circumstances? Sometimes there is not much choice.

By stating 'Do the Right Thing' I am also not suggesting that companies bankrupt themselves - what I'm suggesting is that if customers have a problem, you hear them out and try to help. There are a lot of ways to do that.

Kind of gets back to my "Expectations - Reality = Satisfaction" Set the expectations that you can deliver on given your business model and be honest about it with your various constituents.

The best any of us can do is be honest and transparent so that those around us don't get unnecessarily frustrated and angry.

I've been an executive and I've made some mistakes in this regard as well...but try to keep my eyes on the prize in terms of what I owe others who are working with me...and I've been in a couple of situations that I couldn't be transparent and that has made me feeling exceedingly trapped.