Why "4"ROCKS?

When I refer to 4ROCKS, I’m not just using the number to represent “For” Resolution Of Customers’ Known Struggles.?I’m also doing that because there are “four” types of ROCKS on earth and within business.?

Sedimentary ROCKS

First, sedimentary rocks are formed from other rocks during the erosion and settling process.?Erosion adds rock remnants to the remains of plants or even animal skeletons.?Time, pressure and weight from above cause them to form the unique layers we see in the sedimentary formations.?In similar fashion, sedimentary ROCKS in business also reflect the impact of time and layers of process, systems or even red tape.?As companies create more complex layers of process or increase segmentation of the organization, we see these layers start to impact the customer experience.?As these layers of process are added to layers of complexity, they ultimately make the experiences much “harder”.?

Metamorphic ROCKS

The word metamorphosis means “changed form or transformation”.?This process starts with an existing rock, but pressure and heat deep within the earth causes the original rock to undergo metamorphosis. Many metamorphic rocks, like diamonds, crystalize during this process.?In business, unlike with diamonds, these types of ROCKS are not valuable, but like diamonds, they can be some of the hardest.?Almost any change will create more confusion or challenge for customers.?Changes in product, service, business reorganization or mergers and acquisitions can create major struggles for customers to adapt.

Igneous ROCKS

Igneous rocks are formed from melted rock deep inside the Earth.?The word igneous was derived from the Latin phrase which means “made from fire”.?When magma cools and changed from liquid to solid, igneous rocks are formed.?In business, these ROCKS are created by “fires” or major negative events.?Some examples of igneous ROCKS in business can be technology outages, product failures or even major budget cuts.?These fires can burn within the business causing spot fires behind the scenes, while others might “erupt” and flow like lava over the business landscape.?

Meteoric ROCKS

Meteoric rocks are formed in space and survive entry into earth’s atmosphere.?From minor to major catastrophic impacts, these rocks are literally “not of this world”.?In business, meteoric ROCKS from external factors can result in limited impact to truly extinction level events.?New laws, market activity, competitive or economic pressure can all impact and organization from the “outside”.?These rocks can come in single events or a “shower” if driven by shifts in policy or even political power.?For a lot of businesses, COVID was a major meteorite causing an extinction level event for them.

The hope is that by understanding the types of ROCKS we can prepare and reduce the impact to our customers.?You can also hear more about this on the CX Decoded Podcast, April '22 edition, hosted by CMS Wire.?I’ll also be speaking at BFSI CX Exchange in October.

#4ROCKS #BFSI