Category Archives: Business Management

Lean Six Sigma Customer Focus

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We hear all the time that we must be customer focused, but what does that mean? Let me give you the short answer.  First, you have to know who your customers are.  Second, you need to know the needs and desires of your customers. And third, you need to have a plan to meet those needs and desires.

The first mistake we typically make is to worry about who is supposed to be providing a product or service to us.  It is totally counter productive to look at your job from the prospective of who you are a customer to.  To see yourself as the customer. This is a selfish perspective that will sub-optimize your performance. Believe it or not, it will make your job harder.

You can only improve business processes by reversing the direction of your vision. You must look instead at who your customers are.  Being customer focused is at the core of every successful business and relationship. Being inwardly focused is at the core of every business failure and personal failure.

A customer is anyone to whom you provide a product or service. Basically, customers come in two flavors. Internal and external.  We typically know who our external customers are, because that is the orientation of our thinking. At the same time, though, we typically lose site of who our internal customers are.  Internal customers are those we work with.  The person in the next cubicle or another department.

To start the process of becoming customer focused, create a list of who you think your customers are (include your family and significant others). Don’t worry about being wrong, just base it upon your opinion.  Next to each customer, list what product or service you provide them.

When ready, show your listing to your customers and ask them to rate your performance.  If they are honest, you probably won’t have too many surprises. At the same time, you will probably not like what you hear. We generally know how good or bad of job we are doing.  Don’t be defensive. Just like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, quality is in the eyes of the customer.

Once this is done, answer the following questions.

If taking care of my customer’s needs (instead of my own), in a timely and appropriate manner, became the focus of my work, what would change about my work (what would I do differently)?

If this happened, how would you measure how successful your day was?

How would your perception of “what is a good day” and “what is a bad day” change?

The profound fact here is that if everyone were to take care of their customer’s needs (internal and external), than everyone’s needs would be met. No one would feel as if they were not given appropriate support. It becomes a seamless circle where no one gets left out.

To ensure that you get what you need, you have to first ensure that your customer’s get what they need.

How’s Your GPA

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Remember when you were in school and there was this dreaded thing called GPA that was used to measure your success as a student?  GPA stood for Grade Point Average. Teachers used it to motivate and colleges used it to qualify applicants. My GPA wasn’t stellar, but I understood its importance.

I want to introduce you to another GPA.  In this case it stands for Goals, Plan, and Action. This GPA is a proactive tool to help you be successful. Let’s get right into it.

Goals. Goals are the set point of what you want to accomplish.  I want to reach $70,000 in income this year, I want to complete 5 sales today, I want to make it to everyone of my child’s games this year. 

In a broader sense, goals define what is important to you.  They are either enablers for other goals, step goals, or they are the end game of what you want to accomplish. Either way they should pass the RUMBA test and be highly visible to you when you are in the heat of battle.

RUMBA stands for reasonable, understandable, measurable, believable, and achievable. Goals that do not pass this test will leave you set up for failure.  If I set my goal too high, like high jumping 30 feet, I will not take it serious and will not be motivated by it.  The same is true if I set my goal too low, like high jumping 6 inches.  I will get the same result.

Setting goals that are beyond your reach is not a problem if you have more reasonable step goals in place along the way. Just remember that improvement and achieving goals is a journey.  There are typically many steps and obstacles along the way.

Plan: Next you need to have a plan to achieve your goals.  A goal with no plan is like a car with no gas.  It looks pretty, but will not take you anywhere. Your plan needs to be detailed enough to guide you in decision making and nimble enough to help you when circumstances become less than predictable.

A detailed discussion on planning is beyond the scope of this article.  Even so, there are generally three questions that a plan will answer for you.

What am I going to do?

How am I going to do it?

How will I know I am being successful?

Action: Even with a goal and a plan, you still have to take action to carry out the plan. Building on the car with no gas example above, even if you have a goal and a plan, you still have to get in the car and start the engine to go somewhere.  Action on your plan is needed.

Sometimes action is an activity and sometimes it is a sacrifice.  Either way, there is no room for coasting.  You are moving forward are your aren’t.  One thing for sure is that if you are costing and your competition is isn’t, you are losing ground.

Sales Success: A Shopper’s Journey (short version)

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Knowledge:  The shopper must know that you are there and can provide the service or product they need.  This is a marketing issue.  The shopper can find you in the yellow pages, on the internet, through the mail, word of mouth etc.

Learn:  Once the shopper knows that you are in the market, they begin to learn about who you are, the nature of your product or service, and your reputation. You have to be ready to provide information about your business and what makes you unique in the market place. This is the process of getting them to like what they are learning.

Like:  In order to progress along the path of purchasing from you, the shopper must like what they have learned about you.  This is common sense.  You don’t buy from someone you don’t like or trust.

Prefer:  If the shopper likes what they have learned about you, they may move on to preferring you as a vender. Preference does not guaranty a purchase.  You still have to provide the product or service they need and do it with as little risk as possible.

You may prefer to do business with a vender that is very easy to work with, but they do not have what you need.  Conversely, you may find what you need with a vender who is difficult to work with or is risky to do business with.

Conviction:  If the shopper prefers you as a vender, they can develop the conviction to buy from you. Conviction is based upon low risk, meeting critical to quality requirements, and at some level, a degree of personal connection.

This is a tricky area.  Shoppers do not like to be sold, but they do like to buy.  Most shoppers who will not buy on-line or over the phone are simply afraid of making a mistake.  Not necessarily that they will buy the wrong merchandise, but that they might buy from the wrong vender.

Conviction for the shopper becomes a matter of feeling safe and believing that they are making a good decision.

Buy:  If the shopper has conviction that you are the right person to buy from, then they may move on to do business with you.  The key here is to make it easy to do business with your company.  Remember that buying is an emotional decision, not an intellectual one.

A shopper may know everything that there is to know about you and your product or service and still not “feel” right about buying from you.  Conversely, a shopper may not know everything they need to know, but still feel safe about buying from you. This is why it is better to ask questions and listen than it is to tell the shopper something about your business.  Telling is not selling.  Listening is.

Customer Focus, From Lean and Mean Process Improvement

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Two aspects of customer satisfaction affect every business: satisfaction with the process output and satisfaction with the service surrounding it. In the service industry, businesses understand that providing quality service is a key to customer satisfaction. At the same time, though, they must have concern about the service product. For example, consider receiving exceptional customer service from an associate at a retail outlet, only to find the selection of merchandise too limited. The result is that you may choose a different retail outlet on your next shopping trip.

Conversely, what happens when you receive very bad customer service at a different retail outlet, which happens to have a very wide selection of merchandise? Even though you can find what you need, you will probably decide not to do business with them in the future.

Many product manufacturers miss this connection as well. An edge in technology or functionality gives a competitive advantage in the market place. Although this physical advantage is important, if the quality of service provided to the customer is poor, it will likely negate the advantage. For example, you would probably not rush to purchase a technically superior automobile from a supplier known for poor service after the sale.

To summarize, in order to improve customer satisfaction in a meaningful way, the business needs to distinguish between the process that provides the service and the process that provides the product. Without this distinction, it is easy to blame defects on the wrong process, or to fail to recognize that the other process exists.

Specifically, the service industry must recognize that their customers see a product component associated with the service they receive, while the manufacturing industry must recognize that their customers see a service component associated with the product they receive.

Designing a Business

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I have been starting up a new business division in our company.  Nationwide Parts Distributors has been an inside sales business with connections dating back to 1992.  Now with the advent of Automotive Electronic Solutions, we are also a remanufacturer.

This is a completely different business model for Nationwide Parts Distributors.  We designed the work flow, defined the core competencies for each position, set up infrastructure, hired employees, and opened for business.  The ROI for the business turned out to be less than one month.

We did all of this in a new business format and performed well enough to maintain the highest possible rating with the Better Business Bureau. This is remarkable in that we avoided the typical start-up quality issues of a new business venture.

We are now in our third month of operation and have raised enough working capital to begin the process of purchasing the building we are operating in.  This will increase our valuation in the market place and reduces our monthly cost of operation.

It has been hard work managing  the changing design of the organization as we went through a steep growth curve. Even with a flexible, lean, organizational design, we have doubled the number of employees in the new business to accommodate the increase in throughput that our customers demand.

I am very proud of the team of professionals that work here at Nationwide Parts Distributors and Automotive Electronic Solutions. Their belief in the vision, and commitment to achieving it, has made it all possible.

Listening Strategies

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We spend our lives being taught how to read, how to write, and how to speak. We generally have very little training on how to listen. This is big problem since listening is a top-level skill in a world where the spoken word is so important.
To understand the skills involved with listening, we need first to understand that our minds provide us with 128 bandwidth window to the universe. Any information from the outside world must enter through this window. The problem is that part of that bandwidth is used up with process functions things like I’m hot, I’m cold, I’m hungry, I need to go to the restroom. Do you remember how hard it is to pay attention to someone when you have to go to the restroom really bad?
The remaining bandwidth is used up with all of your other senses. What you see, what you smell, what you feel with your fingers. The practice of good listening involves moving these other senses to a subordinate mind function so that they are out of the way of incoming sound.
Good listening is not a simple function, although it is instinctual. Our ancestors on the savannah thousands of years ago relied on listening skills to survive. Movement in the brush could mean dinner had arrived or you were about to become dinner.
This began to change as language functions developed. The change was specific to what was being listened for: movement in the brush or fundamental language components or both. When you consider that language components also include the evaluation of emotion, the complexity of listening becomes evident. It is no longer just what is said, but how it is said.
The importance of contextual information, such as emotion, can be seen in the modern day court room. Lawyers and judges are relying more and more on reading court room transcripts to evaluate what was said and make life changing decisions. The problem is manifested in what is lost in a transcript. A transcript cannot tell you anything about tone of voice, voice inflection or emotion. To understand this problem, consider how many ways that you can say the words “shut up” and how the meaning changes with how you say it.
Listening involves several sub processes. There is the physical aspect of hearing, which is a physical process of sound waves hitting the ear drum. Listening also involves the processing of language and critically analyzing the received information. Lastly it involves formulating action. This can be a verbal response or maybe even a mechanical response such as “fight or flight”.
There are four basic listening strategies. These are “not listening”, “listening for reinforcement”, “listening with the intent to reply” and “listening with the intent to understand”.
The first strategy is “not listening”. Not listening is the process of tuning out sound coming into your brain. This is the most used listening strategy in humans. It involves tuning out one noise source in favor of another. An example might be listening to someone speak while sitting in the food court of your local shopping mall. You are selectively tuning out the noise coming from other people around you in order to selectively hear the voice of the person that you are communicating with. Not listening may seem to be a bad thing, it is actually essential to communication.
The next strategy is “listening for reinforcement”. This involves listening with little to no critical analysis. This is how you listen when you are being told what you want to hear. An example might be listening to political opinion or spin makers. Sometimes this is a listening strategy we apply when we are sitting in church. Its overriding characteristic is the lack of critical analysis. In other words, this strategy’s weakness is it failure to challenge the information that is coming into your brain in order to interpret its correctness or truthfulness. Does this sound familiar in your culture?
The third listening strategy is “listening with the intent to reply”. This is how you listen when you are emotional or in an interesting discussion. We utilize this strategy anytime we feel that what we want to say is more important than what anybody around is saying. An example of this type of listening skill would be a situation where you are arguing or you are listening defensively. You wind up subordinating the words of the people speaking to you in favor of the words you are formulating in your mind. The critical analysis applied here is not applied to the words you hear. It is applied instead to the words you want to say. This makes it very difficult to accurately get the other person’s meaning. Have you heard a person ask a question and receive an answer to a completely different question? If so, you probably witnessed someone listening with intent to reply instead of with the intent to understand.
The fourth listening strategy is “listening with the intent to understand”. Specifically, this is listening with the intent to understand more than the spoken words. This is how you listen when you watch television. Visualize how you feel when you are watching a program you are interested in on television and right at the moment that you are paying the most attention someone comes in and begins to speak to you. How does that make you feel? It probably makes you feel uncomfortable, stressed and maybe even angry.
This listening strategy involves listening between the words for meaning, truthfulness and motive. When using this strategy you are able to critically analyze the information coming into your mind. This allows you to get the speakers story, to fully understand their angle, their motivation and what their true needs and wants might be. In consultative sales for example, this type of listening is critical. You have to understand what the shopper needs, what they are afraid of, and what their potential objections are. Without this information, the sales person is not likely to close the sale.
The point to this discussion is this. Just like our ancestors on the savannah needed good listening skills to survive, we too must have good listen skills to survive. The specific strategy may have changed over the past millions of years, but the results of poor listening have not. Our ancestors might get killed by a predator if they listened poorly, we on the other hand will be used up by lies, missed opportunities and a general failure to recognize the predators in our culture.
I cannot finish this discussion without giving you a couple of ways to improve your listening skills. Here is a practice strategy that works for me. I practice evaluating what listening strategy I am using anytime I am involved in communication with another human being. Once determined, I will consciously switch to listening with the intent to understand. The idea is to understand the person speaking to me at a deeper level than they understand me. That places me in a more informed and powerful position than the other person. It also means that I am in a better position to help that person, explain my opinion or defend myself.
Another practice strategy is to go to a social function and learn as much about the people you talk to as possible, while reveling as little as possible about yourself. This exercise involves asking open ended questions that get others to talking while you listen with the intent to understand. People like to talk about themselves and you can learn a great deal about someone both by what they say and what they don’t say.
My last point. Do not misunderstand my motivation in writing this piece. The object is not to become a person who uses words to subvert others, to become a predator. Instead it comes from my desire to make a contribution to the culture in which I live. Imagine how the world would change if everyone began listening with the intent to understand.

Mistake Proofing

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Mistake Proofing

Mistake proofing is an effort to stop defects at the source. The prime objective is to prevent defects from occurring in the first place, but if they do occur, to stop their progression through the process. By stopping a defect at its source, its cost impact is minimized.

 The further the defect progresses through a process, the more waste occurs. The more waste that occurs, the higher the cost impact. As a result, the best place to stop a defect is in the design of the process, product, or service. Once the process is in place, waste starts to be generated as a process output along with the product or service.

 The first step in mistake proofing is to determine the kind of error, or errors, that caused the defect. In a Six Sigma project, this is what the Define, Measure, and Analyze phases have been isolating on a project level. As part of the Improve Phase, the problem process will be re-engineered. Part of this re-engineering will be mistake proofing the process steps.

 There are general classifications of errors that lead to defects. Different organizations may have somewhat different categories.

 Concentration: Lack of concentration, breaks in concentration, interruptions

Knowledge:  Lack of training or experience

Judgment:  Prejudice, expectation

Mistakes:  Forgetting, accidents

Speed:  Working too fast, working too slow

Standards: The absence of standardized work, absence of performance     standards

Independence:  Deciding to ignore rules or standards, freelancing

Intentional: Deliberate mistakes, sabotage

Incidental: Equipment failures, environment, surprises

Unknown: These will usually find their way into one of the above categories after analysis.

 There are several approaches to mistake proofing. Each approach addresses at least one of the above error categories. The following are some of the more common strategies.

 In manufacturing, one of the most common approaches is the use of fail-safe devices. These devices prevent the operator or machine from creating a defect. An example would be the use of a slipping-type torque wrench to prevent over tightening.

 The magnification of the senses is another mistake proofing method. Examples would be optical magnification to improve vision and closed circuit video to see where it is not otherwise possible to see (distance, safety, etc.). Also used are pictures instead of numbers (LED bar charts instead or a numerical display on a meter) and multiple signals (audible and visual alarms used together).

 The elimination of error-prone steps in a process is another method of mistake proofing. This may require designing a new process or the use of automation. An example of this is the use of ambient-light sensors to turn outside lighting on or off.

 Facilitation of the work process will also aid in mistake proofing. This is changing the process steps so that they are easier to do, or easier to do right. An example would be to color code parts that are similar in shape. This would make it easier to identify the correct part for assembly.

 Devices that detect an incorrect action or part can be used to mistake proof a process. Examples would include a weld counter to ensure the correct number of welds or a software modification that will not allow incorrect entries.

 There are as many mistake-proofing strategies as there are mistakes. It requires communication and cooperation between the operators, the process owners, and the engineering staff to successfully execute. In many businesses these functions are silo’ed and do not work together well. This is why progressive companies are putting together production teams for both products and services. These teams are made up of dedicated operators, engineers, and managers all working in the same process. They all have ownership of the process, and as a result, communication and cooperation are easier to maintain.

Cost of Poor Quality

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The cost of poor quality (COPQ) is the total cost impact of defects produced by the process. There have been many discussions, some heated, about what categories of costs should be considered in this important  process metric. Many organizations make the mistake of only counting the COPQ that they can see. The problem is that this is only the tip of the iceberg. One way to see these costs is to look at what expense types in the process’ operating budget will decrease if the process operates defect free. With this point of view, the cost of poor quality becomes the difference between the as-is cost of producing a product or service, minus the cost of production with no defects.

 The COPQ of a process appears in three categories: prevention costs, appraisal costs, and failure costs. Failure costs can be broken down further into internal failure costs and external failure costs.

 Prevention costs are associated with any activity designed to prevent defects. This includes quality improvement efforts, re-engineering, and new process design. These activities are non-value added in the eyes of the customer.

 Appraisal costs are associated with inspection activities. These activities are designed to prevent existing defects from getting to the customer. Referring back to the Define Phase, remember that any activity associated with finding defects after they occur is non-value-added. Even though the customer may be glad that the defects were caught before the delivery of the product or service, they do not want to pay for the cost of removing bad outputs.

 Failure costs are associated with the mitigation or correction of defects. All internal and external failure activities are non-value added. Internal failure costs are incurred before the defective product or service is delivered to the customer. Examples are scrap and rework. External failure costs are incurred after the defective product or service is delivered to the customer. Examples are warrantee costs, customer returns, customer complaints, and lawsuits.

 An improvement team needs to investigate all potential cost categories in order to capture all of the costs of poor quality. The advantage for the improvement team is more than just a set of data. An understanding of the cost structure surrounding a process will prove extremely valuable when analyzing the process’ performance and when trying to determine which process problem areas to focus on.

Six Sigma Performance Teams

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If you were selecting a basketball team, what criteria would you use for the selection of players? If an academic team were being selected, what would your criteria be? If the selection of a Six Sigma process improvement team were the objective, what criteria would be used?

It seems so simple, but we can sometimes make things complicated. Too much attention to politics and control will spoil the team’s chemistry. There are some simple rules, though, that can make the process less painful and more successful.

First, the make-up of a Lean Six Sigma team will need to change a little as it moves through the process improvement phases. There will be a core group of members all the way through, but there will be a shifting of other members depending upon what the team needs at the time.

There are three main types of team members: regular, ad hoc, and resource members. The regular team members attend all meetings, unless advised otherwise, and participate in all team activities. Ad hoc team members participate only when the team requires their expertise. Lastly, there are resource team members. Their meeting attendance is at the discretion of the team leader. These team members are sources of information, resources (time, money, etc.), or coaching.

The second rule has to do with the specific talents of the team members. A Lean Six Sigma process improvement team should include a process owner, a process expert, a budget and accounting member, someone from engineering (if applicable), and maybe even a stakeholder (customer). It can also be helpful to place persons on the team that may work against you if left out. Being a team member will give them buy in.

Third, a team should have a common purpose. This common purpose comes from building a common identity. The team should know what the business expects from them, as well as the known roadblocks and limitations. This third criterion can become sticky. What should a team leader do if he has a team member who is trying to sabotage the team’s work? This is not an uncommon situation.

Team Dynamics

Positive team member behavior involves respect. This respect is built upon a willingness to show consideration and appreciation for others on the team. In fact, showing respect for others is a cornerstone of a stable society. With it, there is progress and synergy (alignment). Without it, there is stagnation and disintegration. The team environment is a micro-society. A team that is respectful of others, and the team as a whole, will have the best chance of success.

The appreciation of diversity of opinion is the starting point of positive team dynamics. The point of putting a team together is to have a diversity of opinion. All opinions and ideas have value and contribute to developing a best solution or result. To be successful, the team members should recognize and celebrate diversity of opinion. This means looking for the useful and positive in everyone’s comments and questions.

Agreeing to disagree is the adult method of dealing with conflict. This is how a team gains consensus. It is also a means to allow diversity of opinion to exist and drive the team forward. By agreeing to disagree, team members do not have to let go of their opinions to move forward.

Another important aspect of respect within a team is attendance. Team members have to be present in both body and mind in order to contribute toward the team’s success. If a team member is absent, that person does not contribute and slows the team’s progress. An unengaged team member presents a similar problem.

Attendance ties in with completion of action items. Since teams use tasks and timelines to move a project forward, action items become the vehicle for team progress. The team assigns action items to a responsible person and a due date is set. This makes the team’s progress predictable and the distribution of resources easier to control. When team members do not take action items seriously, the team cannot function.

When a team is functioning correctly, everyone is contributing. Contributing means participation, voicing your opinion, and adding your brainpower to the team’s efforts. One moment you are giving information, the next you are listening, and the next you are negotiating. The resulting high energy level speeds the team’s progress. It is also more fun.

Team Leadership

The team leader plays an important role in making sure that all team members contribute. This may mean asking someone’s opinion, or slowing down a team member who is too dominating. In either case, every team member’s dignity is important.

The responsible person on a team is called a leader for a reason. This is because the leader is expected to lead and manage, not supervise the team effort. This implies that exceptional leadership skills are necessary for those responsible for managing an improvement team. A leader is more effective than a supervisor is in this case. This is because a leader gets their power from people being willing to follow (a team environment) while supervisors get their power from higher levels of management (a command and control environment). In fact, a supervisory approach to team management will prevent success. Process improvement is a “What do you think?” activity not a “Do as you are told” activity.

Team Member Behavior

Some types of team member behavior will hinder a team’s progress. An example might be the team member who is there because it is part of their performance evaluation. This person is not there for the team. They are there to service their own needs. This team member will usually find pleasure in hindering team progress with arguments that have no substance or by not helping with action items.

The “card player” is another example of an ineffective team member. This person is quietly paying attention to the ebb and flow of power. They align themselves with the winning side on issues and rarely express their real opinions. It is all about keeping themselves on the correct side (the prevailing point of view) of issues. This kind of participation is more political than constructive. As a result, their contribution can bias the results of team activities such as scoring matrices, brainstorming, and multi-voting.

An especially dangerous attitude is associated with the team member who is there to represent their boss. This person is following orders. They will express the views of their boss rather than their own opinion. When this is a means of controlling the team, there will be problems. This boss’ opinion can be valuable as long as it is not subversive. The danger for the team is when the truth is suppressed or conclusions are biased because someone in a position of power is protecting the status quo or attacking something that the team is working on.

Conflict

Dealing with conflict is an important team function. Not only is conflict unavoidable in a team environment, it is desirable. The team should cherish conflict that results from diversity of opinion. The team leader will need to intervene when the conflict becomes personal or destructive. The bulk of the responsibility for this lies with the team leader, but some responsibility lies with the other team members as well. A set of ground rules will help the team prevent conflict from dragging it away from its mission.

The first rule is that conflict will be taken off line when it becomes a problem. During a meeting, this may mean taking a break, changing the subject, or both. This allows the conflict to be isolated from the rest of the team. Before reconvening, the warring parties must agree to disagree or to develop a plan to address their differences at another time.

Another rule is to obtain an agreement from all team members to take a team perspective during conflict situations. The point is that the team’s focus is not on individuals. At an adult level of understanding, it should be clear, that in most cases, what is good for the team is also good for the individual. It is not, “What’s in this for me?” Instead, it should be, “What’s in this for us?”

A team also needs ground rules for conflict outside of meetings. Conflict outside of meetings can derail the efforts of the team as effectively as conflict during meetings. Undermining teammates, or the team’s work, with persons who are not team members will sub optimize the team’s efforts in favor of individual goals. Team issues are the team’s business, unless the team leader feels that the situation is becoming unmanageable. Then the team leader can go outside of the team for help.

Dealing with conflict is all about respect. A team that has individuals who do not show mutual respect to their teammates will not be effective. From a team leader perspective, there may come a time when they have to remove a member from the team. This is a severe action and is a last resort. Making an enemy of a former team member will create internal and external repercussions for the team.

The point to all of the above is that the team must keep their eye on the ball. The team that keeps its focus has the best chance of success. Keeping their focus means controlling the pressure to spend time on individual or political concerns.

Requirements vs Delighters

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Requirements are those service or product characteristics that the customer requires in order to satisfy their needs. When the business fails to meet these requirements, the customer will not be satisfied. The result is a lost business opportunity. The analysis of these requirements will eventually lead us to customer critical to quality (CTQ) issues.

On the other hand, delighters are those aspects of a product or service that delight the customer when present, but are not required. For example, hotel customers did not expect a free continental breakfast in the past. By providing customers with this service, some hotel chains were able to gain a competitive advantage.

This practice leads to customer expectation. Once exposed to a delighter, the customer can, and usually does, come to require these delighters. In other words, the delighter becomes a requirement. In addition, as is typical with customer satisfaction issues, requirements tend to escalate. For example, where customers were once delighted with a free continental breakfast selection of donuts, juice and coffee, some are now expecting prepared foods.

Finally, customer requirements tend to increase in number and complexity. Once a requirement gets set in a customer’s mind, they do not typically to go away. For this reason, businesses need to plan the rollout of delighters and measure their impact. There is no rest for the business that wishes to gain and keep market share.