Moments of Truth

I worked for Harper when this book was first published. Along with In Search of Excellence, it represents a high water mark in corporate responsiveness to customers' needs. I still recall stories from this book, which I sent to the CEO of Alaska Airlines, on which I was a frequent flyer at the time. I wrote to Bruce Kennedy and said I was sending the book to him, not because he needed it, but because his company exemplified the culture of service described in the book. I am amazed and appalled that the culture that gave rise to these two books could abandon those principles in favor of "profits before people" (whether those people be customers or employees). This company, SAS, did everything in its power to serve its people. Not because regulations told them to do so, but because that's the kind of people they were. Profits followed pride, which followed showing concern for their customers. Concern for a passengers' bill of rights only arose when that culture of concern evaporated. If you want to make America, and the experience of flying, great again, voluntarily return to the culture of service described in this book. It looks a lot like B Corporations look. I plan to buy another copy to read this again, to remember what it was like when companies treated us like we were neighbors and friends.

Moments of Truth are defined by the author as the numerous 15 seconds interaction where customers interact with front-line employees. As Jan indicates: "These 50 million "moments of truth" are the moments that ultimately determine whether SAS will succeed or fail as a company. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative. This book is one on transforming and leading an organization that is customer and market driven. The author argues that to deal with this "market-led discontinuity", the underlying organizations must be "revolutionized".The book covers Jan's career and through that covers a variety of leadership and organizational topics such as strategy, risk, organization structure, communication, results, rewards etc. It also offers insight into the airline industry at the time - regulation, strategies, competition etc. What sets this book apart is the context in which the lessons are exposed - namely the numerous transformations that Jan lead at the various units he headed. The transformation was one centered around people first and foremost, then on processes and technology second. He truly embraces the "people first and last" spirit.A very quick educative and enjoyable read filled with gems of management and leadership wisdom - particularly around organizational transformation. Highly recommended!Below are excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:1) "In a customer-driven company, the distribution of roles is radically different. The organization is decentralized...flattened, more horizontal, structure. This is particularly true in service businesses that being not with the product but with the customer."2) "In order to become a customer-oriented company, extensive changes will be required on the part of frontline employees. Yet, the initiative for those changes must originate in the executive suite. It is up to the top executive to become a true leader, devoted to creating an environment in which employees can accept and execute their responsibilities with confidence and finesse. He must communicate with his employees, imparting the company's vision a reality. To succeed he can no longer be an isolated and autocratic decision-maker. Instead, he must be a visionary, a strategist, an informer, a teacher, and an inspirer."3) "A leader is not appointed because he knows everything and can make every decision. He is appointed to bring together the knowledge that is available and then create the prerequisites for the work to be done. He creates the systems that enable him to delegate responsibility for day-to-day operations."4) "A leader today must have much more general qualities: good business sense and a broad understanding of how things fit together the relationships among individuals and groups inside and outside the company and the interplay among the various elements of the company's operations."5) "Eventually, we formed a much clearer idea of how the flattened pyramid should operate and were able to communicate the new roles to middle managers as well. The work still begins with something handed down from above - overall objectives for achieving the company goals. Upon receiving these broad objectives, middle management first breaks them down into a set of smaller objectives that the frontline people will be able to accomplish. At that point the role of middle manager is transformed from administration to support."6) "Similarly, individuals employees - and corporations as a whole - must dare to take the leap. In the corporate works taking this kind of leap is called "execution." Having a clearly stated strategy makes execution much easier. It is a matter of courage, sometimes bordering on foolhardiness, combined with a large portion of intuition. These characteristics may be impossible to acquire but, if possessed, can always be developed further."7) "Unfortunately, many corporate executives are noticeable lacking in intuition, courage, and conviction." "Indeed, I believe that the only way any group or individual can take responsibility is to understand the overall situation. I routinely share the knowledge that I have about where the company is and where it should be heading with the board unions, and employees. For the vision to become a reality, it must be their vision too."9) "A worker who can envision the whole cathedral and who has been given responsibility for constructing his own portion of it is far more satisfied and productive than the worker who sees only the granite before him. A true leader is one who designs the cathedral and then shares the vision that inspires others to build it."

An amazing leadership book, help the reader to understand what does it mean to be a customer-centric company in real world ... how to do smart delegation and wise empowerment for your frontline employees and finally you will understand the real impact of strategy and vision ... although it is written long time ago but all advices within this book is applicable on our current era (era of customers)this book can be considered as one of the first written books about customer experience

Jan Carlzon is a business leader who learned how to diversify his strengths and fortify his weaknesses. He is one of the few CEO's (before Jack Welch :) who had the boldness, bordering on foolishness, to take huge risks. He had 'safer' options available to him but he earned his salary by pioneering the expansion of product-service development beyond aircraft; maneuvering past the notion that market share is everything; and shifting emphasis to a value organization nurturing the best customer service in the world for the business traveler under extremely competitive conditions. Surprisingly, he made SAS profitable over and above everyone's expectations, including his own!Carlzon presented a clearly defined strategy and it was effectively communicated to the stakeholders and employees, focused internally and externally, in equal portions. Carlzon took the innovative step of training his workforce to take responsibility for reaching goals, directing managers to support and encourage "frontline" employees to make decisions normally reserved, and maintain a steady work environment that was flexible enough to immediately respond to pursuing quality customer service.At the time Carlzon wrote this book, the timing was before the rapid expansion of powerhouse Southwest Airlines. He focused on the best technology, concentrated on the type of aircraft, upgraded systems at the airport and improved distribution systems, which were key elements towards a profitable company. On the technology side, Robert Crandall, former CEO at American Airlines proved technology was related to profitability when he introduced the Sabre yield/reservations system.Among the legends of aviation, Jan Carlzon, Robert Crandall and Herb Kelleher propelled the airline industry into a future that remains obscure. However, with the right dose of courage, discipline (wisdom) and imagination, the search for corporate excellence is not restricted to the little 'blue'-suited (I really mean green) men sitting in the Ivory Towers.One final point. I truly appreciate the fact that Jan Carlzon wrote this book for us. He represents the best of Denmark, the culture of the Scandinavian countries and the 'individual' way they do business.Consider reading "Unique, Now or Never," by Jesper Kunde and then read "Moments of Truth." Carlzon's leadership was before his time and he is still absolutely SPECTACULAR!

While the book and the case histories it contains are pretty old by now, Carlzon's message remains clear and unmistakeable. The "moments of truth" (those brief instants in which customers come into contact with your front-line staff) define the image of your company in the eyes of the consumer.There are still far too many so-called service companies (not just airlines) that pride themselves on being customer-oriented, but are in reality product- and process-oriented. This is a great read for all managers, trainers and lecturers.

A great book, and it arrived on time.

This book was great when first read it abotu 15 years ago, it still is. Some of the simple messages are still valid and it a good primer on marketing in a real world.

Best book ever written on customer service. Shame 95% of business owners have never read the book and waste time and money promoting themselves rather than just focussing on the customer/client.

Must read for all in the service industry!