Of course, most of us are big fans of Malcolm Gladwell. He had delivered some of the best TED talks and this story, The unheard story of David and Goliath is another one. I have used David and Goliath in many examples for other reasons and I am certainly happy to have this one as backup material.
It’s a classic underdog tale: David, a young shepherd armed only with a sling, beats Goliath, the mighty warrior. The story has transcended its biblical origins to become a common shorthand for unlikely victory. But, asks Malcolm Gladwell, is that really what the David and Goliath story is about?
David and Goliath could be the most famous fight in history, and we can all repeat the story. However, few of us at best ever knew what they were fighting about. My use of the story is in discussing customer loyalty and the consequences of keeping a loyal customer. When a product works well, we seldom read the fine print. We can be a loyal, an advocate for many product/service till we have a problem. When we finally get around to the fine print, we become extremely unhappy.
I have an interesting podcast coming up in a few weeks with Eric Michrowski where we dive into the Customer Loyalty paradigm, Eric is presenting on the subject of Redefining the Customer Experience and Operational Experience by Tapping Into the Passion and Talent of Your Team Members at the 22nd Annual Service Quality Conference October 7–8, 2013 in Las Vegas, NV.
I have the pleasure of participating in the conference and will be giving a sixty-minute presentation on Lean Service Design. I encourage you to review the Business901 training section on the subject, Lean Service Design Trilogy. My presentation will be building on this section and offering a unique perspective on applying Lean to the Service Design Field.