When implementing technology – it’s easy to forget this point: Your end users are your customers. If you treat them like your customers and thrill them, they’ll tell everyone!

If you don’t – they’ll tell everyone!

The above may seem obvious, but it doesn’t take more than five minutes searching the terms “Failed Implementation” to see that it isn’t that obvious. Many failed implementations are focused not on the end-users but on the stakeholders. Software implementations configured for stakeholders do not succeed. Transformations succeed because the company culture chooses to make them successful.

As a change leader,  when you think about leveraging an implementation as a possible start to something more for your career – pleasing the end-users is the only place to start.

You won’t be able to please all of them – you are bringing change, which can be a difficult pill to swallow for some folks.

However, if you treat your end-users with empathy and a genuine curiosity to understand their viewpoint – they’ll remember you. 

Conversely, if you treat them like a rung on a ladder as you climb to the top – you’ll quickly see how influential your end-users can be. Remember: people tend to share negative experiences over positive ones. So how high do you think that ladder can get under those circumstances?

Empathy, kindness, and generosity are today’s ways to stand out.

References and Resources

Customers: Negative vs. Positive responses

Users vs. Customers – Forbes

Supporting Music

Cornflake Girl by Jawbox

All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan and the World, et al

Note: Originally posted December 4, 2017