Creating a Culture that Is Externally Oriented

When talking to leaders, I sometimes glibly say, “If all you did was ask customers what they want, and just simply did that for them, you’d be 80% of the way to the right strategy.” Of course, there’s nuance—for example, “what they want” sometimes takes interpretation—but the literature suggests that’s a pretty good starting point.  

The same point about asking customers what they want extends to employees and other stakeholders.

But despite the importance of gathering insights from outside of the organization, many leaders only do so sporadically—at worst, only when they’re creating a strategic plan. My hunch is that these insights aren’t prioritized because, while almost everyone believes they are important, seeking outside perspectives is rarely urgent.

And external perspectives are rarely urgent because most people outside of the building don’t have our email addresses, access to our calendars, or the ability to walk past our desks. For almost everyone except the frontline team, most of the “urgent” items on our to-do lists come from internal stakeholders, creating a culture of internal focus. 

This is the exact opposite of the culture that’s needed for strategic success, and the strategic leader will fight this tooth and nail. 

The first way they can fight an overly internal focus is to have an always-on approach to external engagement, and to insist that everyone in a position to influence strategy directly participates in that effort.  

In addition to the information that’s gathered,  this direct engagement has another upside: it takes the ego out of debates. When we actually talk to customers, we don’t have to rely on “your idea versus my idea.” Instead, we can allow the needs of customers (and other stakeholders) to be the arbiter.