The Power of Moments

The Power of Moments, Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact, by Chip Heath & Dan Heath, Simon & Schuster 2017

When companies want to delight customers and grow their customer base, they often send out a survey to try to identify problems so they can drill down and focus in and get serious and bang away,  spreading general unhappiness through their organization.  

But what if, say the Heath brothers, that same company decided to create defining moments - memorable happy times - based on what they call peaks.  Think of the most positive experience, for example, that you've had with Southwest Airlines - the flight attendant's prepare for landing jokes, for example - after a long week on the road. Southwest turns the required flight safety announcements into a comedy routine.  One flight attendant was quoted, "If you should get to use the life vest in a real life situation, the vest is yours to keep," what the authors call a defining moment - a minute of humor that stands out from the surrounding trip.  Southwest's approach, the authors estimate, created over $100M in value annually by instilling more loyalty among customers.

Or how about that warm cookie Doubletree hands you on check-in?  Its a different approach, but key to the authors' point:

     ... fixing problems will lead to great experiences.  But that's wrong.  Fixing problems doesn't make people happy.  Peak experiences do.

Cirtronics, an ESOP manufacturer in Milford, New Hampshire, believes in just exactly what the Heath brothers cite as good first-day-on-the-job defining moments, because at Cirtronics, a newbie is assigned a buddy who helps familiarize that person with company contacts, routines, social opportunities, training.  Because Cirtronics sees employees as more than a human capital investment, once a person is hired on, they are valued and respected as company owners and idea generators.  Cirtronics' customers, companies like iRobot and Brooks Automation,  depend on them for good innovation as well as excellent quality and delivery.

Firstronic, a Michigan electronics producer, discovered with a rising turnover rate that what their newbies were missing was the same kind of welcoming orientation.  New hires weren't happy being brought in on the late shift and abandoned to the floor until a supervisor found the need to discuss a problem.  They needed more than problem-solving, and so Firstronic also developed an on-boarding procedure that allows new workers to acclimate and become part of the culture.

The Power of Moments is filled with moving and very persuasive real-life stories that affirm the authors' point:  peak moments create permanent memories.  In fact, here is a sad, personal story to illustrate:

    Kira Sloop was 11 years old when a chorus teacher said her voice was "different" and suggested she just mouth the words for the rest of the year.  Kira was crushed and deeply affected by the rejection.  About a year later, another chorus teacher took the time to listen, and encouraged Kira to develop her distinctive voice.  Kira found new confidence in every aspect of her life, and ended up singing with her chorus at Carnegie Hall -- all because the second instructor offered a key moment of recognition.  

Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx and the youngest self-made female billionaire in history, attributes much of her success to a simple question her father used to ask at the family dinner table:  What did you fail at this week?

Mill Girl Verdict:  Welcome, human relief from mechanistic approaches to creating a happy culture, either of customers or workers.  Memorable stories, well-written.  And how did two brothers manage to collaborate and make their final product appear seamless?

Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com, tricia@patriciaemoody.com,