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Years ago, I took a psychology course in college as one of my general education requirements. During a week-long module, the professor, a middle-aged woman, taught us about the various stages of human aging. The professor asked the class, “What are some of abilities we lose as we age?” I raised my hand and answered, “Hearing.” Due to my very low voice, which isn’t always heard on most frequencies, the professor responded, “I’m sorry, Jon. I didn’t hear you.” The class erupted into laughter, believing I had pulled a funny one on the professor. It was embarrassing for me, and even more so for my professor. My professor was sincere enough to laugh about it and still give me an A for the semester.
At the time, I wondered how I would ever apply the information I was learning in my non-business courses. What I learned that day in psychology class had everything to do with business, and I learned a valuable lesson from it. Businesses, like humans, are subject to hearing loss frequently as they age. As companies grow large and become old, their hearing starts to fade. They stop listening to customer complaints and suggestions. We’ve done well so far. Why change? Aging companies may also think they don’t need to stay ahead of competition. I was once told by an aged company something like, “Our research and development team is so skilled, they won’t even want to hear your idea.” That’s pretty pathetic, considering I was willing to give them the idea.
Hearing loss isn’t something we can completely prevent in humans; however, we can definitely stop hearing loss in businesses. Make a commitment to keep the hearing in your business. Listen to your customers. Listen to your advisers. Listen to your intuition. You will reap the rewards as you strive to improve your company, rather than drifting into complacency.
Jonathan Cole is the owner of Sugoi Innovations, LLC. He may be contacted at jon@sugoiinnovations.com. |
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