‘Trust is transferable’
Analysis improves the probability of success, but can’t guarantee it, JEFFPIERSALL and ERIC WRIGHT tell Sangeeta Tanwar
The book claims that we are driving pell-mell toward a clash between technology and our ability to utilise it. How can organisations and leaders strike a balance?
JEFF PIERSALL: Elon Musk recently said, “I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that.” AI is science fiction that will soon be science fact and the only way to manage something that disruptive is to have the wisdom to recognise its potential and its dangers, much like nuclear technology in the 20th century.
In a world that’s changing as fast as ours, you have to have a core set of values and principles that do not change. Those values serve as an ethical GPS in this era of hyper-change. That’s what our book has set out to provide.
How can young businesses overcome analysis paralysis? What can they learn from successful companies that started small but went on to become mammoth enterprises?
ERIC WRIGHT: Every startup entrepreneur should be a passionate student of successful companies and leaders. If the only way you learn is through your own trial and error, you’re limited to your own experience, versus the experience of thousands who have faced the exact same challenges you’re facing or will face. That’s what wisdom is all about.
In terms of overcoming analysis paralysis, well, eventually you have to untie the lines of the ship and leave port. Experience, navigational charts and equipment are all essential for the journey. But remember, faith and fear have the same definition -- believing something you can’t see in the future is going to come to pass. The difference is, one is negative and one is positive. You have to believe in yourself, believe in your idea and believe in what the future holds, then have the courage to move towards it.
Analysis certainly improves the probability of success, but it can’t guarantee it.
Your new book echoes well-established truth that when competence is questioned, everything slows down, confidence gives way to hesitant and calculated caution. How can leaders avoid this?
ERIC WRIGHT: Move faster by moving slower. The answer to this challenge is taking the time to build trust in the front end of a business relationship, which may seem to slow things down. However, once trust is established by demonstrating competence and character, the pace will pick up and transactions move from due-diligence delays to decisive confidence.
The best way to accelerate this process is by borrowing the trust you’ve established with one customer and leveraging it with another. It’s essentially recognising the power of a referral. One point we make in our book is that trust is transferable. Because you trust the competence of a hospital, you accept, often without question, the competence of the physician who is providing services. Similarly, if you trust an institution of higher learning, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, you tend to trust that its graduates are well qualified. The same transfer of confidence can take place with business associations.
A word of caution is important here. Just like your company’s good experiences can be leveraged to gain future business, people tend to share their bad experiences much more quickly than they do their good ones. One client’s negative experience can spread like cancer in the market, undermining opportunities, especially in the Facebook and Twitter world we live in.
You claim in the transactional and relational sales process, only the transactional piece can be successfully completed through the digital environment. Pls explain.
JEFF PIERSALL: I recently booked an overseas flight through an online travel service. Like previous experiences, it was quick and saved me a great deal of money. Two weeks before the flight, and months after I made the booking, I went online again to reserve my seats. Too my utter dismay, I discovered my reservation had been canceled. I had to be on the other side of the world and not only did I not have a reservation, my flight cost would now, probably, double. At that point I didn’t want to try to navigate my way around the “customer service” tab on their website; I needed to talk to a person. Herein lies the challenge, and unfortunately the answer isn’t always clear. Businesses have to have an easy-to-navigate, regularly updated digital platform. It’s how business is done. But they also must carefully determine, sometimes by trial and error, when people need a human versus a digital interface. Those companies that learn to master that balance will succeed, while those who ignore the cries of frustration from their customers or dismiss it with an arrogant, technocratic attitude of, “They just don’t get it,” will be history.