If you read as much as I do, you can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content being pumped out daily. But if you’re anything like me, you’ve discovered that, like the effort required to find the figurative needle in the proverbial haystack, perseverance is the key to reward. Case in point:

I found this sleeper lurking among my LinkedIn feeds: “Learning to Say No and Four Other Secrets of a Successful Customer-Centric Startup“. At first I wasn’t impressed. What’s the big deal about saying no? Watch this: “No.” See what I mean? Anyone can do it. But I read on. Thank God I did because I found this:

One of the most reliable ways to succeed as an enterprise startup is by delivering an impressive and world-class experience to your customers. 

The stunningly unexpected part of this brilliantly simple suggestion is that neither of the two characteristics prescribed in this formula for success — impressive and world-class — is enough on its own. Here’s why:

  • If your enterprise start-up delivers an impressive experience to your customers, it might not be world-class. That means somewhere else in the world there might be another enterprise start-up that’s better than yours at letting its customers experience whatever it is your enterprise start-up lets your customers experience. For example, it might be better at taking the customer experience to the next level, at using the customer experience to push the envelope, or at letting its customers experience thinking innovatively and disruptively outside the box.
  • If your enterprise start-up is world-class, it might not be impressive. That means yours may be the only enterprise start-up in the world that takes things to the next level or pushes the envelope or thinks innovatively and disruptively outside the box. But the customer experience is just sort of ho-hum, lackluster, or prosaic. That’s the the kiss of death, especially if your enterprise start-up is customer-centric.

Not wanting to take advice this potentially powerful at face value, The Chautauqua Center for the Study of Successful Customer-Centric Startups accessed the records of every customer-centric start-up in history. Guess what. Every one — regardless of size, geographic origin, or industry — delivered an impressive and world-class experience to its customers.

All I can tell you in the face of such persuasive evidence is this: Read everything you can. Pore over every word with vigilant diligence. And when you find gems like the one above, pass them along.

If we share the wealth, everyone can have an impressive and world-class experience.


Image by geralt, courtesy of pixabay.com.