Actions speak louder than words

You may recall from your childhood the story of the goose that laid the golden egg: in this story a poor farmer owns a goose, which, one day, lays a golden egg. It continues to do this until the Farmer becomes fabulously wealthy.

Initially the Farmer is hugely grateful, and looks of the goose with expert care and attention, but, after a while, he becomes greedy, and stops looking after the goose so well. Eventually his basic instincts get the better of him, and he chops the head off the goose, because he wants all the golden eggs now, only to find that there are none inside.

So it is with customer service: from your Organisation’s point of view, that goose is you and all your stakeholders: the golden egg is the profits and long-term health of the organization. Obviously one has to look after, cherish and nurture the goose, in order for it to continue to thrive and lay more and more golden eggs.

It’s really easy to look after the goose when she’s laying golden eggs: The question we need to search our souls (and ask all our stakeholders) is :

Do we have the courage and determination to stick by the goose, and keep feeding and looking after her, when she goes through a barren patch, and the eggs are temporarily less plentiful?

Or will we, like so many organisations (especially those who answer to short term shareholders above all else), lop her pretty head off and reach inside…