Silent Approval and Fixing the Obviously Wrong
March 31st, 2006 by Matt InglotI came across two blog posts by two different people that fit very well together and give some serious food for thought.
Seth Godin writes about his observations waiting in line at the airport. He points out the amazing inefficiencies in companies making the sale that are just accepted as fact… the long lines to the concession stands… the 10 minute hold on the phone to buy a $500 product.
Meanwhile Steve Pavlina points out the dangers of Silent Approval. This is the idea that you notice someone, particularly an underling, participating in an undesired behavior and not taking action. Your silence reinforces this behavior. As Steve’s blog is about personal development and not managerial practices, it’s no surprise that he turns this concept around to point at your own life. To quote: “Perhaps your relationship situation isn’t what you want it to be. Maybe your career is a total shipwreck. When you use silent approval on yourself, you tell your subconscious that your current standards of performance are acceptable.”
The moment I read Steve’s post it clicked back to Seth’s. Here Seth is pointing out these amazing dumbfounding problems that are possibly costing the companies large amounts of sales, and yet this is the standard that these businesses are operating under. It seems the managers and owners are victim of the kind of silent approval that Steve describes, except that instead of it applying to their life, it is applied to their business (arguably a major extension of their lives).
I certainly believe what Seth says about lost sales because I have witnessed myself giving up on purchasing products many times. Some stores I won’t shop at period because of the tedious and inefficient experience they provide. If I’m in a hurry I’m not going to buy an unnecessary product, but it’s not just about lines. Take Radio Shack (now “The Source”) as an example. I dread having to purchase anything there because I know it means being interrogated for my personal information, telling the clerk I’m not interested in providing it, watching the clerk skip through the personal information data mining, and finally getting the product purchased. Sure it’s a hassle, but the real problem is it creates a competitive “customer versus merchant” experience. Why would I buy from a place I dislike?
It’s a good idea to step back a bit from your business and question why you are doing things a certain way and how they can be fixed instead of worked around. I’ll definitely be doing this for my company. Afterall a leaky sales process is very expensive.
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