Four-Lettered Bombshell
Fighting Complacency and Mediocrity at the Office.
Normally, I don't like this type of language, but I think this time it is honestly the only way to get this point across. Ready for it?
Smug.
Sorry if I offended those of you with sensitive constitutions. No, "Smug" is not normally recognized as a vulgar form of grammar. It's not even on the "Seven Dirty Words" list made famous by George Carlin.
But it should be. At least in business.
Companies flounder when they don’t notice the evolution of their customer's needs, or think they know more than their customers. If a company thinks that it can't lose because of superior marketing, placement, or products, eventually a feeling of invincibility washes over the culture of the firm. Once invincibility takes hold, complacency takes root.
Apple has been in the news recently with the fanfare surrounding the iPhone. While the iPhone has been an incredible success for Apple, users were disappointed about the lack of applications that are common on other devices. To fix this, a number of software programmers outside of Apple found a loophole that allowed the creation of a wide variety of programs Apple was not developing. Just as quickly as the iPhone community could celebrate these wonderful applications, an update from Apple slammed the door shut. While some people view this as Apple only asserting control over its products, some may see this as a disconnection between the desires of iPhone users and Apple’s management. Could this be the beginning of complacency in Apple?
Complacency doesn’t just exist at the strategic level, we all experience it in day-to-day life. How many times have you accepted a shoddy, half-done piece of work, knowing it was horrible, only to tell the creator that it is wonderful and thanking them for their time. We've all done it under the guise of "politeness" or even laziness. But who is it helping? Is it helping the submitter, who thinks their work is "good enough" and will continue to deliver at a sub-par level or the company that now has to invest time in cleaning up the mess?
So what can you do to avoid complacency?
- Set the bar higher, time after time. Ken Blanchard made the observation "If you take the pressure off, people will revert to their old behaviors." For a company wanting to avoid the pitfalls of complacency and mediocrity, managers will need to keep the pressure on finding new ways to serve customers well.
- What is your attitude towards your customers? Seth Godin on his blog put it best by asking “Do you spend time doing things to your customers or for your customers?”
- Commit to changing your culture. Employees that are not engaged in the business process are a drag on the entire firm. Studies show that 73% of employees don’t put their full energies into their work environment.
- The question is not whether your firm will suffer these issues, but when it will. Success is a breeding ground for "good enough" which in the end is never good for business.
