Well...today the stock market is taking a beating. I usually don't make political comments in our blog...and this one is not a strict political commentary...but I must borrow from the recent political happenings surrounding the debt ceiling.
Congress toiled and toiled and bantered around a political hot potato that is the statutory debt ceiling for the United States. Finally, at nearly the 11th hour, Congress ratified an agreement that in principle increased the debt ceiling and addressed several other key political points...however, they forgot to ask the rating agencies for their reviews. As you know, on Friday Standard and Poors downgraded the rating on US debt...creating the exact problem that Congress was trying to avoid!
The lesson here is that you MUST not only pay attention to the interested parties in your market (for us...our customers and potential customers) but LISTEN to what they have to say when you actually ASK them for their input.
The customer has keen insights and may see things differently than we do...like the rating agencies seeing things differently that Congress.
You need to stop and engage your customer and marketplace to determine WHEN and IF the actions that you are considering are going to be accepted and if not...help to determine what you should do!
Far too often, as an industry, we have insulated ourselves in meeting rooms and have a false sense of the customer pulse...the only way to know it, is to take it yourself through customer interactions and asking tough questions.
So, learn the lesson that Congress has not yet learned...ask the questions and be ready to modify your answer or strategy based upon the feedback you receive....in the end, you will be miles ahead and dollars saved!
Cheers!
Bruce
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