Everyone knows that it takes two to tango, but some people forget that in business, it also takes at least two…
Let’s start by being a little critical of today’s business world. While some transactions, businesses and approaches are becoming - by force, by choice or by deception - more ethical, the jungle still exists and in some respects is growing.
Dreams are sold for anything and everything, even if it means “lying through omissions, periphrases, shortcuts or elisions”. With packaging now more important than content, and social media adding ‘algorithmic’ layers every day to drive consumption, talking about ethics at this level is like selling ice cream to Eskimos…
It’s about time we got back to sound business principles, but can we and do we want to?
Balance in business consists of reconciling the interests of the customer and the supplier so that at the end of the transaction, both parties can say “we’ve done a good deal”. Is this still the case today? There are two opposing schools of thought in this area: one that advocates doing less and less, as customers’ requirements in terms of content and execution decline; while the other aims for excellence and pushes customers to the top by attaching great importance to the whole ‘product’, from the production line to after-sales service.
By taking the “everything and right away” approach to the extreme, we have certainly lost part of our soul in business. If a product can be bought in two clicks and at low cost, it loses its emotional and transactional value: I buy, I consume, I throw away. If, on the other hand, you must seek advice, learn how to weigh things up and wait to receive the service, it takes on a different value.
Although the reference may make you smile, St-Exupéry wrote in “The Little Prince” that “it is the time you take for your rose that makes your rose so important”. Have we lost patience in business? Customers have become demanding, and suppliers have understood this, but the machine has run out of steam: at many levels, the dichotomy between the real need and the proposal is becoming increasingly obvious.
One wonders whether a form of “education in ethical business” should not be taught, as the family environment no longer seems capable of managing these relational foundations.
Business performance is no longer measured in years or quarters, but in minutes. We can welcome this progress, which is largely based on technology, but what about the commercial side? We crow when the figures are green for 24 hours, and panic and overreact as soon as the first indication turns red: is this reasonable?
The customer and the service provider or supplier need to be able to build over time, at least for “important” or “emotionally charged” business. This requires an understanding and symbiosis between the interests of both parties: here we go again with the tango metaphor.
Accompanying the customer towards excellence should be an honour: it seems to have become a pipe dream, even an incoherence. In many commercial situations, it is those who talk about ethics who are killing excellence by choosing mediocrity. It’s a sobering thought. Even if generations XY and Z find it uninteresting in this age of clicks and spontaneity, perhaps one day they will see the value of partnership in business.
Happy reading and see you soon.