“The Bear” Truth About the Business You Don’t Even Know You Are In.

I have two current obsessions that have me thinking a lot about the customer experience- both have evolved into late-night binging and reading that couldn't put down. The first is the FX show “The Bear” and the second is a recent best-selling book called Unreasonable Hospitality that has changed my view about the business we are all in.

FX ’s “The Bear" (now streaming on Hulu ), is a show where the main character, Carmy, sets out to turn his small family sandwich shop into something exceptional. One line that struck me from the trailer is about Carmy’s business model: “You have to care about everything more than anything.”

Similarly, Unreasonable Hospitality, written by Will Guidara , highlights his personal and professional journey to become the co-owner of Eleven Madison Park — a once average French brasserie that eventually earns three Michelin stars and the title of Best Restaurant in the world.?

As a bonus, the last few episodes of “The Bear” give several hat tips to Guidara, pulling content from his book and Guidara's highlights.?

On the surface, both of these stories are ostensibly about the restaurant industry and fine dining at its most elite levels.?But a closer examination reveals some common elements for the business we are all in, a business that many of us fail to understand that we are in, in the first place.?

What is that business??

The business of experiences.

If you run a non-profit, trade association, a consulting firm, or make and sell products, you are in the business of experiences.

Unreasonable Hospitality changed how I look at everything, and you should too. Paying attention to experiences is make or break for your business. I challenge you to place “experience” at the top of your priorities and see how things change- your culture, your reputation, and eventually your success.

Here are three examples that come to mind:

Make time for your advocates: I am reminded of a Legislative Leader whom I encouraged to connect with a Think Tank CEO. The legislator revealed he had been a long-time donor to the org since long before he was a legislator. He also shared his frustration that the Think Tank CEO was always very busy and needed more time for him.?If you are a think tank CEO actively trying to change legislative policy, but you don’t make time for your donors and legislators, your priorities and experiences are likely out of whack. He is no longer a think tank CEO.?

Acknowledge your supporters: I recently read an article, “I Stopped Donating to Your Organization,” in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. It described the frustration one donor felt toward organizations he had supported that failed to do the bare minimum. He also outlined why he stopped donating.?But consider this- if your org is treating your donors poorly, coalition partners, clients, and volunteers are likely being ignored and mistreated. That shared experience of neglect can shape an organization for the negative and affect its ability to move forward in its mission.

Make it easy to get involved: I am reminded of my own frustration a couple of years ago about trying to volunteer with two orgs—one required that volunteers participate in a three-month training program. The other had a three-step half day process that had to be completed on three separate half days, which could have been easily executed in one day.?What is your org’s volunteer experience??Do you have a robust volunteer program that allows for thank yous and special recognition??Perhaps you should revisit that experience. Lots of people that aren’t on your board want to volunteer to support your mission—some of them are donors and some of them are subject matter experts. How do you plug them into your efforts?

Know your audience: Let’s talk about the experience of the white paper. I have been on a life-long mission to kill the policy white paper. However, it has nothing to do with the white paper itself or the vigorous research within; it’s the lack of thought given to the experience of the intended audience. White Papers were very handy in the past if you wanted to know about Soviet and US relations, for example. You would send a SASE (that’s a “self-addressed stamped envelope” for anyone millennial or younger) to the likes of AEI or Brookings Institute and they would send you back white paper(s) with all the latest thought leadership on the subject. The “latest” might have been a timely 5-10 years, which reflected the knowledge curve at the time but fails dramatically in the internet era. White Papers have their place, but if you don’t have an impact campaign and an accompanying one-pager with graphics to serve as a leave-behind for policy makers and thought leaders alike, you are missing the mark.?Also, if you don’t have an omnichannel dissemination strategy that involves events, stakeholders, digital and social media –your message is likely going to sit unread on the shelf.?

With the above lessons in mind, let’s go a little deeper.

10 Tips for Creating Better Experiences

1.????Focus on the persona of someone interacting with you for the first time- a first-time donor, first-time attendee, first-time website user---what is their journey??How can you cultivate and even automate their journey so everyone receives the same exceptional welcome.?

2.????Stop using acronyms and insider language when communicating in public forums such as your website, emails, and social media. This alienates those who are curious about your community and are reviewing your message online.

3.????Standardize the customer experience across all employees and create a minimum expectation of standards for service.?

4.????Polish the forks, or as NFL Coaching legend Bill Belichick famously advises, “Do Your Job.” Everyone in your organization plays a role in contributing to the overall customer experience.?However, as Guidara discusses in his book and as numerous characters in “The Bear” display, allowing others to step up empowers the whole group.

5.????Treating everyone like a VIP, ensures every experience is great—you might not know when first interacting that they are VIP or will be someday.????However, by the mere fact they are spending time experiencing your company or org, they are stating you are valuable to them.?

6.????Incorporate excellent service and excellent customer service into your KPIs or OKRs as much as you would any other metric for your org. Find ways to track hospitality, including net promoter scores.

7.????Know the rules, and know when to break them.?

8.????Know your customers and how to communicate with them better than anyone; both the show and the book highlight knowing customers’ favorites, from a chocolate-covered banana to birthdays to liking light beer more than the wine list—know who is in the room and how you can make the interaction better for them.

9.????Be customer-obsessed.?Amazon has a set of leadership principles that the company takes very seriously. Principle #1 focuses on customer obsession:

“Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

10.?Surprise and delight; go the extra mile. Work with and hire people that care for their clients and customers.?Make it part of your culture.