Help the people of Britain save a million hours in the month of May
May 9, 2011Beyond the Familiar – Long-Term Growth, Customer Focus, NPS and other reflections: Interview with Professor Patrick Barwise
May 18, 2011
Originally, I trained as an economist (forgive me!). However, recently I saw the video below which I thought was fantastic and encapsulates the debate and the difference between the Keynesian and Hayek viewpoints about how we should manage the economy: Top-Down or Bottom-Up.
Note: I must thank Chris Brogan who brought this video to my attention in his post: I Prefer to Learn Like This.
Boring, you might think. But, bear with me a second as I think this is really interesting as they have made a brilliant video that starts to explain this debate in the form of a rap video. It really is inspired.
Check out the video and then come back and I’ll tell you why I think this is important for business when it comes to customer experience.
Back? What did you think?
Now, my own personal opinion, when it comes to economics, is that no camp is completely right or wrong but that a mix of Top-Down and Bottom-Up is best for managing economies. Most modern economies follow this approach, I believe, but is is the balance, the mix and the implementation where success or failure is defined.
I think the same applies to the design and delivery of a better customer experience or more customer centric organisation. Some people will advocate that Top-Down is best whilst others will argue that everything should be done Bottom-Up. Again, I come down on the side of a mix depending on a number of factors including:
- Your culture
- Your industry
- Your company size
- Your customers
- The resources available to you
I, also, don’t think there is or ever will be a right mix or answer. Finding the optimum then becomes a mix of trial and error.
However, I believe the key here is the awareness of the approach that you are taking and the mix that you are using. That awareness will, I am sure, help you see what you are doing right and what you could be doing better to build better, more valuable and more sustainable relationships with your customers through your customer experience efforts.
What do you think?
Thanks to aralbalkan for the image.
7 Comments
Adrian,
Wow thanks for introducing me to such a great video!
You’ve found the perfect way to describe any transformation option which is what that macro debate was all about. Yup I have to agree that a bit of both ways is the best way. Neither approach is complete and has its drawbacks. So as you say awareness is key.
Anyway all we need now is for someone to do the same production for Customer Service!
Martin
Hi Martin,
It’s very very cool isn’t it. I am glad that you liked it and agree that it has to be a mix.
If someone was to put together such a video around customer service or experience or even just building a customer centric organisation you’d have to agree what the debate was about and who were the characters. Any ideas?
For me, P&G may be an example of the bottom up approach. What do you think?
Adrian
Adrian,
I really liked the video, what a great way to deliver a complex message..Being a bit of a self taught economist I have to side more on the market driven economy, however, oversight is essential to make sure that balance is maintained. I can tell you that I do not subscribe to a deficit spending platform and nor do I agree that prices have to continue to rise over time.
In a healthy economy, prices tend to fall causing an increase in disposable income, which creates more savings and therefore leads to more capital available for production. More production creates jobs and the wheel keeps spinning.
My.02
Thanks for sharing this!
Bill
Hi Bill,
I am glad that you liked the video. The point you make about what happens in a healthy economy I agree with. However, what we also see is that these effects can cause downward pressure on profit margins and profitability over time there meaning that the investment capital that is being made available has to accept lower returns or look for more risky investments to maintain its return on capital. Thus, we can end up with a destabilising effect etc etc. Sounds familiar, right?
How do we stop this cycle? I’m not sure that we do or we can. We just need to be more aware of it, promote better practice and have better mechanisms in place to mitigate any fallout. What do you think?
Adrian