Masterclass in Under Two Minutes by Jeff Bezos: Five Potent Perspectives
Jeff, the brainchild behind Amazon, divulged an enlightening tale about the company's early days during an appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast. During their conversation, they discuss the customer help line's hold times, with data indicating customers waiting less than 60 seconds for support, yet persistent complaints about long wait times.
Instead of dismissing the complaints as outliers or the work of a small group of complainers, Bezos decided to test it himself. He dialed Amazon's customer service number, enduring a 10-minute wait - quite the contrast to the short wait time reported by the data.
This simple act beautifully exposed the flawed data, triggering a series of corrections.
This segment of the podcast clocked in at roughly two minutes, yet in that brief time, Bezos dished out invaluable insights. Here are five key takeaways:
1. Anecdotes Matter
Despite Amazon's reputation as a data-driven company, Bezos's tale underscores the significance of anecdotal evidence. While data plays a crucial role in decision-making, customer anecdotes, complaints, and feedback can provide valuable insights not captured by metrics. Bezos emphasizes, "When the data and anecdotes contradict, usually, the anecdotes are correct."
Years ago, I dismissed a top phone salesperson. She consistently topped the single metric we monitored, weekly sales. As with the Bezos example, we had occasional complaints about her brusque customer interactions. We didn't pay much heed to the complaints, though; the numbers sang her praises.
Overlooking the complaints was a mistake. Eventually, we combined call handling numbers with sales data and uncovered a different picture. Our top-performing rep generated sales by handling more calls, at the expense of customer satisfaction. We hadn't realized this until we analyzed the correct data.
2. Examine Metrics Closely
If anecdotal evidence contradicts the data, it's a sign to closely examine the metrics being used. Bezos suggests that in such cases, "It's often that you're not measuring the right thing." Businesses ought to consistently evaluate whether their metrics accurately represent the aspects of the business they intend to measure, like customer satisfaction and experience.
In my salesperson example, we initially failed to measure the data that revealed the true top performers.
3. truth-Telling and Action
Bezos's courageous act of personally dialing customer service during a meeting showcases his commitment to "truth-telling." He emphasizes the importance of acknowledging hard truths and acting on them. This suggests that leaders should foster a culture where employees feel comfortable raising concerns and challenging the status quo, even when it involves accepting mistakes or acknowledging shortcomings.
It's likely that, if asked, the call center reps would have confirmed the customers' complaints about their long wait times. It's also likely that managers didn't relay this up the chain of command because the inconvenient truth was too hard to swallow.
4. Demonstrations Are Impactful
By personally experiencing the long customer service wait time, Bezos effectively demonstrated the urgency of the issue to his team. Live demonstrations can make a powerful statement and galvanize action. Leaders can often make a bigger impact by showing rather than just telling.
Author Martin Lindstrom describes an intriguing scenario in his book, The Ministry of Common Sense. He staged a workshop for executives of a communications company. They were directed to a room to wait for the workshop to begin. The room was stuffy, the chairs uncomfortable, and a television blared advertising messages.
After waiting more than an hour for the workshop to commence, the executives became agitated and demanded to know what was going on. Lindstrom revealed that this was the workshop. They had just experienced what their customers experienced when they came to their store for assistance. The leadership team grasped the message and initiated improvements to their customer experience.
5. Focus on the Customer
The anecdote highlights Bezos's customer-centric approach. He prioritizes the customer experience over potentially misleading data. Businesses should prioritize understanding and addressing customer pain points, even when it means challenging internal assumptions or metrics.
And, beware of self-serving managers. We don't know why the data was inaccurate in Bezos's case, but it's possible that providing the wrong data wasn't an accident. I once had an incredibly frustrating experience with my internet provider. At the conclusion of a long interaction, they asked if I'd complete a short survey.
I agreed, eager to share my opinion candidly. However, they only asked about the call center rep. There was nothing negative I could say about her, but I had plenty to say about my overall experience. Interestingly, they didn't ask about my overall satisfaction or if I'd recommend their service to others. I have a hunch that they didn't ask such questions because the truth would have been damaging. The CMO wouldn't want to explain to the CEO why half the customers dislike the company. So, they didn't ask. Better to report good news, like, "91% of our customers think our reps are courteous and helpful."
Amazon's drive towards Customer Centricity and innovative business approach are significant factors that propelled it from a startup to a global juggernaut within a short span. Whenever you encounter an issue, ponder over (or perhaps have a chat with me), "What would Bezos do?"
- In my past role as a manager, I overlooked the significance of anecdotal evidence from customers, just like Amazon initially did with their customer help line complaints. I dismissed a high-performing salesperson based solely on sales data, ignoring customer feedback about their brusque interactions.
- After analyzing the correct data, we discovered that our top performer actually prioritized volume over customer satisfaction. This revelation underscores Bezos's point that anecdotes can provide valuable insights not captured by metrics.
- Martin Lindstrom's anecdote from 'The Ministry of Common Sense' demonstrates the power of live demonstrations in galvanizing action. By staging a workshop that mimicked a frustrating customer experience, executives were able to see firsthand the impact on their customers, leading to improvements in their customer experience.
- As a leader, prioritizing the customer experience over potentially misleading data, like Bezos did, can help businesses understand and address pain points, even when it means challenging internal assumptions or metrics. It's essential to foster a culture where employees feel comfortable raising concerns and challenging the status quo, just like Bezos did by experiencing the customer service wait time himself.
- Self-serving managers may deliberately provide inaccurate data to protect their own interests, as seen in my experience with my previous internet provider. To minimize this risk, businesses should ensure that data collection processes are transparent and that they regularly solicit and listen to customer feedback.
