Lisa Ekstr?m: “When will you ‘Kamoja’ for you and your business?”

“My driving force, my motto has always been: Difficult is fun.” Says Lisa Ekstr?m, founder of Kamoja, a Swedish company that helps business develop and transform their customer service. ‘Kamoj’ means to borrow in Thai. By placing an ‘a’ at the end, Ekstr?m turned it into a Swedish verb, with the meaning ‘to borrow’, as in, taking inspiration from someone’s success story or life hack, adapting, adjusting and implementing it into one’s own life to create happiness and success.

“If it’s not difficult, it’s not for me.” Ekstr?m states. “When it’s difficult, you need to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone.” As a sales manager at Scandinavian Airlines, Ekstr?m felt she had the sort of job where she was inside her comfort zone the whole time, able to answer all the questions she received.

When the company began looking for a new customer relations director, Ekstr?m felt curious and wondered if she should apply. “This department had a backlog situation. Meaning that it took more time for you as customers to receive answers on your claims than the standard promised, which at the time, was 21 days.” ?She explains.

“I remembered my moto: ‘Difficult is fun’ and I applied. Soon the job was mine and I began by listening to my staff members.” Ekstr?m says. “And very quickly I discovered that they were giving the role their everything. They were working as fast and as hard as they could, cutting coffee breaks and skipping lunch.” Describes Ekstr?m.

“And so, I understood that we had to work in a different way.” She says. While focusing on helping and supporting unsatisfied customers, Ekstr?m also began to shift some of that focus and attention onto happy, satisfied customers who had reached out to the company.

“We often had customers who were so satisfied that they would go out of their way and email us, telling us about their great experience, and we would always answer with a thank you.” Says Ekstr?m. “At one point, we even sent cakes out, with personal notes thanking our customers.”

Ekstr?m goes on to say how focusing on satisfied customers was not only good for the customers themselves, but for the staff, too. Whilst it was indeed rewarding to help solve the problems unsatisfied customers brought to attention, Ekstr?m also found that it was at times depleting morale, energy and determination.

However, by shifting gears and beginning to focus on satisfied customers, it helped the team to replenish their energy and refuel their motivation, so they were able to once again give it their all when handling customer claims.

“Doing things differently and sticking your neck out to try something you’ve never done before is difficult because there will always be people who think you’re crazy, or that you should be spending your time differently” Ekstr?m says. “That is why it is so important to create a company culture where you can be brave enough to try different things, and where it’s safe enough to fail.”

“I came across an article about a restaurant in New York.” Ekstr?m says. “A couple go out to eat there and once they’ve finished their meal; a waiter came over and asked if everything was okay. ‘It was more than okay,’ said the couple. ‘It was the best meal we’ve ever had in our lives.’ They told the waiter. And what the waiter did next was unexpected.” Says Ekstr?m. “‘I am so happy you are happy.’ He said. ‘I will treat you to your meal, you do not have to pay.’”

?Ekstr?m found this story to be incredibly inspiring. “I told this story so often that my son told me I should do the same thing as that waiter at Scandinavian Airlines.” She says. “At first I told him that I would someday. But he wouldn’t give in. I had so many reasons on why it wouldn’t work in my line of business, until I realised, they were all just excuses. And so, I decided to borrow, to ‘Kamoja’ the New York story and apply it to my own work.”

“The next day I saw that we had an email from a satisfied customer.” Ekstr?m says. “I called her and she told me her story with great enthusiasm. She had been traveling with her 2-year-old son, and had lots of luggage to check in. She so grateful for all the help she received from the staff.” Ekstr?m explains.

“And I told her ‘We’re so happy that you are happy. We’re going to treat you your trip, you do not have to pay.’ And the line went dead. She asked if she could call me back, to which I said yes. I was worried my experiment was falling flat, but after 30 seconds she called me back, and told me she thought it was a joke. I told her it was not a joke, that I was totally serious, and she was overjoyed.”

Ekstr?m’s experience as a customer relations director reveals the power of taking on difficult challenges, trying new things and experimenting in different ways. By stepping outside of our comfort zones, we are able to strengthen our resolve, gain new insights and skills.

Furthermore, her story also illustrates the importance of balance in our work. Just as much as we strive to solve problems and navigate our way through difficulties, we must also shine a light on our successes so that we can uncover the inspiration to help us move forward in whatever challenges we may face.

Finally, Ekstr?m’s journey encapsulates the power of stories, and of applying what we learn through stories in our own lives and work, for limitless innovation. “When will you take a life hack or success story and make it more than a story you tell?” Asks Ekstr?m. “When will you make that story your own? How will you turn that path to success around, adjust and adapt to suit your work?” She questions. “When will you ‘Kamoja’ for you and your business?”

Written by Katie Wilson, EP Business in Hospitality