Dawn A. Lissy, Empirical09.08.16
As I prepped my two young sons for the new school year, it wasn’t just about the hunt for supplies and stocking the pantry with healthy lunch options. Maybe the tone of the presidential election coverage has thinned my skin, but as the first day of school drew nearer, I found myself spouting frequent reminders about civility:
“It’s true that private and public discourse in general has coarsened in recent decades,” McGuire said. “The proliferation of certain websites or the kind of things that pass on T.V. for family entertainment today wouldn’t have passed even 10 years ago.”
Despite this trend, McGuire is convinced that human beings still crave rewarding relationships.
The upside of this: if you take the time to truly be kind and listen to your clients, you’ll stand out.
“In my experience, the companies that have been the best, the most successful, are genuinely committed to honoring their customers and learning and doing what it takes to meet expectations and avert potential problems,” McGuire said. “The ones that have that passion for their customers almost universally have that same passion for their employees.”
McGuire said it doesn’t matter if it’s a Fortune 500 company with hundreds of thousands of employees or a small business like I run—the tone is set at the top and continues down throughout the organization.
“Successful organizations, regardless of size and almost without exception, are nearly obsessive about customer experience—it’s who they are,” she said. “Company leaders systematically institutionalize customer vigilance via policy, process, training, communication, and—most importantly—hiring like-minded people.”
When it comes to communication, bear in mind people have different styles and expectations. The way we interact has changed dramatically over the past two decades. I remember the first time someone tried to explain email to me back in the early 1990s. I just didn’t get it: Why wouldn’t you pick up the phone and call instead?
McGuire said that’s a critical point, particularly when it comes to conflict. Technology can create a barrier to interpersonal connection. She said it’s like the mental switch that flips for some people when they drive. These are nice, considerate people who’d never curse at someone who accidentally stepped in front of them in the grocery store, but they lie on the horn and flip off another driver who cuts them off in traffic. McGuire implemented processes for her employees that require any conflict management be handled ideally in person or over the phone. Emails can be used to communicate factual information or set meeting times, but not for resolving differences.
“Email is a horrible vehicle to communicate problems—it’s so very difficult to interpret tone and meaning,” she said. “People think it’s a time saver, but it’s not. Issues often escalate, get personal, and more people may get involved via (cc or bcc). Especially when you’re dealing with customers [who] are ticked off, you must have the person closest to the issue pick up the phone, calmly engage the customer, get the illumination they need, and try to establish common understanding.”
In an industry like orthopedics and medical devices, the pressures of a failed job are intense, so tempers may be quick to flare.
“In that kind of environment, where the well-being of a patient in this case, having a product that works and complies—life and death hanging in the balance—everyone’s pretty much on alert all the time,” McGuire said. “These are things that people care desperately about.”
That commitment to patient care is our common ground with clients, vendors, and other stakeholders. Having a clear understanding of what matters to the person on the other end of the conversation orients us to solving problems. McGuire advises us to consider: What does your customer care about? How does the buyer buy? What is happening in the customer’s environment that the seller really needs to be dialed into?
“It is about understanding who they are, what matters to them, setting clear expectations plus meeting them, and communicating effectively along the way,” she said.
Mistakes typically occur because of some kind of communication gaffe, she said.
“When conflicts arise, somewhere communication broke down and the client believes an expectation was missed,” McGuire said.
That means it’s up to us to manage and meet those expectations. If a client feels reassured if he receives a daily, automated email status report, provide that, she said. Top businesses anticipate and exceed the expectations of their clients. Most people want positive, productive relationships. And research shows that the occasional screw-up can actually strengthen relationships, she said.
“If you make a mistake—which we all do—and you work with them authentically to correct the mistake, that actually drives deeper customer loyalty,” McGuire said. “Most people are reasonable. Most people want a positive outcome.”
But you may find the rare individual who is determined to be unhappy. With this particular type of person, the issue doesn’t actually have anything to do with your product or performance; it’s a matter of world view. So the customer may not always be right, she said.
“Sometimes it’s the client who is out of line, and they just don’t pass the ‘life is too short’ test,” McGuire said. “Such relationships tend to eat up your profitability and dishearten your people. But, thankfully, those are few and far between.”
The vast majority of people want things to go well; they want everyone to succeed and be happy. And when you institutionalize a mindset of kindness and concern for everyone involved, your business will grow and your customers will appreciate it, she said.
And it has to be real.
“No doubt that happy customers are more profitable customers,” McGuire said. “Customers know when you’re passionate about your business and about them. It comes from your core. Loving customers can’t be faked.”
Dawn Lissy is a biomedical engineer, entrepreneur, and innovator. Since 1998, the Empirical family of companies (Empirical Testing Corp., Empirical Consulting, LLC, and Empirical Machine, LLC) has operated under Lissy’s direction. Empirical offers the full range of regulatory and quality systems consulting, testing, small batch and prototype manufacturing, and validations services to bring a medical device to market. Empirical is very active within ASTM and has one of the widest scopes of test methods of any accredited independent lab in the United States. Because Lissy was a member of the FDA’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, she has first-hand, in-depth knowledge of the regulatory landscape. Lissy holds an inventor patent for the Stackable Cage System for corpectomy and vertebrectomy.
- Use your good manners
- Act with kindness even if you don’t like someone
- Seek first to understand rather than leaping to conclusions and judgment
- Take a deep breath and think before you respond, especially if you’re angry
“It’s true that private and public discourse in general has coarsened in recent decades,” McGuire said. “The proliferation of certain websites or the kind of things that pass on T.V. for family entertainment today wouldn’t have passed even 10 years ago.”
Despite this trend, McGuire is convinced that human beings still crave rewarding relationships.
The upside of this: if you take the time to truly be kind and listen to your clients, you’ll stand out.
“In my experience, the companies that have been the best, the most successful, are genuinely committed to honoring their customers and learning and doing what it takes to meet expectations and avert potential problems,” McGuire said. “The ones that have that passion for their customers almost universally have that same passion for their employees.”
McGuire said it doesn’t matter if it’s a Fortune 500 company with hundreds of thousands of employees or a small business like I run—the tone is set at the top and continues down throughout the organization.
“Successful organizations, regardless of size and almost without exception, are nearly obsessive about customer experience—it’s who they are,” she said. “Company leaders systematically institutionalize customer vigilance via policy, process, training, communication, and—most importantly—hiring like-minded people.”
When it comes to communication, bear in mind people have different styles and expectations. The way we interact has changed dramatically over the past two decades. I remember the first time someone tried to explain email to me back in the early 1990s. I just didn’t get it: Why wouldn’t you pick up the phone and call instead?
McGuire said that’s a critical point, particularly when it comes to conflict. Technology can create a barrier to interpersonal connection. She said it’s like the mental switch that flips for some people when they drive. These are nice, considerate people who’d never curse at someone who accidentally stepped in front of them in the grocery store, but they lie on the horn and flip off another driver who cuts them off in traffic. McGuire implemented processes for her employees that require any conflict management be handled ideally in person or over the phone. Emails can be used to communicate factual information or set meeting times, but not for resolving differences.
“Email is a horrible vehicle to communicate problems—it’s so very difficult to interpret tone and meaning,” she said. “People think it’s a time saver, but it’s not. Issues often escalate, get personal, and more people may get involved via (cc or bcc). Especially when you’re dealing with customers [who] are ticked off, you must have the person closest to the issue pick up the phone, calmly engage the customer, get the illumination they need, and try to establish common understanding.”
In an industry like orthopedics and medical devices, the pressures of a failed job are intense, so tempers may be quick to flare.
“In that kind of environment, where the well-being of a patient in this case, having a product that works and complies—life and death hanging in the balance—everyone’s pretty much on alert all the time,” McGuire said. “These are things that people care desperately about.”
That commitment to patient care is our common ground with clients, vendors, and other stakeholders. Having a clear understanding of what matters to the person on the other end of the conversation orients us to solving problems. McGuire advises us to consider: What does your customer care about? How does the buyer buy? What is happening in the customer’s environment that the seller really needs to be dialed into?
“It is about understanding who they are, what matters to them, setting clear expectations plus meeting them, and communicating effectively along the way,” she said.
Mistakes typically occur because of some kind of communication gaffe, she said.
“When conflicts arise, somewhere communication broke down and the client believes an expectation was missed,” McGuire said.
That means it’s up to us to manage and meet those expectations. If a client feels reassured if he receives a daily, automated email status report, provide that, she said. Top businesses anticipate and exceed the expectations of their clients. Most people want positive, productive relationships. And research shows that the occasional screw-up can actually strengthen relationships, she said.
“If you make a mistake—which we all do—and you work with them authentically to correct the mistake, that actually drives deeper customer loyalty,” McGuire said. “Most people are reasonable. Most people want a positive outcome.”
But you may find the rare individual who is determined to be unhappy. With this particular type of person, the issue doesn’t actually have anything to do with your product or performance; it’s a matter of world view. So the customer may not always be right, she said.
“Sometimes it’s the client who is out of line, and they just don’t pass the ‘life is too short’ test,” McGuire said. “Such relationships tend to eat up your profitability and dishearten your people. But, thankfully, those are few and far between.”
The vast majority of people want things to go well; they want everyone to succeed and be happy. And when you institutionalize a mindset of kindness and concern for everyone involved, your business will grow and your customers will appreciate it, she said.
And it has to be real.
“No doubt that happy customers are more profitable customers,” McGuire said. “Customers know when you’re passionate about your business and about them. It comes from your core. Loving customers can’t be faked.”
Dawn Lissy is a biomedical engineer, entrepreneur, and innovator. Since 1998, the Empirical family of companies (Empirical Testing Corp., Empirical Consulting, LLC, and Empirical Machine, LLC) has operated under Lissy’s direction. Empirical offers the full range of regulatory and quality systems consulting, testing, small batch and prototype manufacturing, and validations services to bring a medical device to market. Empirical is very active within ASTM and has one of the widest scopes of test methods of any accredited independent lab in the United States. Because Lissy was a member of the FDA’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, she has first-hand, in-depth knowledge of the regulatory landscape. Lissy holds an inventor patent for the Stackable Cage System for corpectomy and vertebrectomy.