There’s a Japanese business philosophy known as kaizen that boils down to making small improvements every day because they add up to large improvements over time.
This isn’t about kaizen.
I stayed at a hostel my first 2 nights in Costa Rica. I don’t like hotels if I can help it. (I spent a good 60 nights in hotel rooms in 2011!) I prefer getting single hostel rooms (not dorms) because hostels have character, kitchens, and the opportunity to meet people if I feel like doing that. Hotels have none of the three (save for character, sometimes).
But here’s what hotels usually do right: they take care of little things. The light switch works. The fan works. There are enough outlets for electronics.
It doesn’t take much to improve a customer experience. In the case of the hostel, for example. An outlet that is so loose my computer doesn’t stay plugged in is annoying. It takes $1 to fix. A light switch that actually turns on the light maybe costs $5 to fix. A new fan (assuming the old one is broken) costs $50 (tops).
We can all make small improvements to enhance the experiences of our customers. I think the issue might be that if people don’t complain we either don’t notice or assume there is no problem. That doesn’t mean there is no problem.
So this is my call out to you. If there is something you think I can improve, no matter how small, let me know. I can instantly see problems in other people’s businesses, but sometimes the blinders come on when it’s my own.
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I know how you feel Karol. My expertise, could it be so called, would be in finding flaws, potential problems, areas of improvement in all things not related to me. I am used as a sounding board for new business ideas, new hires, whether to work with a staff member or simply fire them and cut your losses. I do this all for free because I haven’t tried to sell it as a value service yet. It’s my natural talent. Even Strength Finder points me towards this, if only there was a career for such a thing.
I’ve tried very hard to turn this critical assessment inwards. Often it works, often it doesn’t. It depends how excited I am about something of course. Even I have to be optimistic and sweep naysaying problems under the rug for later once in a while. Much easier to have a cohort with the same skill to view your situation for you and give you the honest truth, and have them return the favour I think.
Big companies will pay a lot of money if you can find problems that are costing them money. Example, as a consultant, save a company $100k/year and they’d be silly not to pay you $50k one time. This is actually a real business Jenn. A service that it sounds like you might be suited for.
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