Last weekend as I was driving through rural Indiana, I drove by a business and immediately took notice of their sign. It was no less than regal with a masonry base reminiscent of an official monument. The sign had large, impressive lettering and I immediately wished I had been driving by later in the evening because I am quite sure that lit up, that magnificent sign would have been visible at least one state away. As I passed the sign and caught a glimpse of the business, I was stopped dead in my tracks to see the small, old dilapidated building just behind the sign. It was not unlike the Wizard of Oz and peeking behind the majestic curtain to find little more than a guy with some levers.
This made me really think about how closely aligned the outward appearance of my own business is with the inside. I asked myself the following:
- Does my sales team accurately portray the service we deliver to customers? Or, are we doing the equivalent of just putting a big beautiful sign in front of an old dilapidated building?
- When we recruit new talent, are we realistic in explaining the work they will perform or are we selling them some type of dream?
- Where might we be falling short of the implied or explicit promises to our customers?
Taking it a step further, I talked to a few customers to find out if their experience reflects the promises we have made. What I have found is that we are not far off. Still, there is more to be done in the way of executing some of the ideas and ideals we have for Stathakis and closing the gap between how we see ourselves and how customers see us.
The most important thing we can all do, especially me, is to fully embrace the truth as our customers see it and not make any excuses why it’s okay to deliver anything less than what we have promised.
So I close by asking, how close does the sign outside your business (outward appearance) reflect what is really on the inside?
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