Your call may be recorded for training or quality improvement purposes

In my last blog entry I wrote about my disappointment in the limited ambition and nobility of the stated purpose of many corporate enterprises. A simple and everyday example of how a pedestrian sense of purpose may be shaping corporate behaviour then came to my attention. This had me reflecting on my own experience, and no doubt an experience that many of us share; the automated customer service menu on the end of the phone. Where did the real people go?

Let’s say that Purpose + Motive + Goals = Behaviour. Perhaps the goal and motive of organisational efficiency has (mis-)shaped the managerial mindset, drawing attention to the mundane rather than the noble? What kind of corporate purpose has produced the decision behaviour that introduces automated systems between people, an application of technology that creates distance, distrust and frustration? Perhaps the original purpose was to better serve and understand the needs of the customer, collecting information in the process. But the purpose was codified, no doubt ratified and the result is now vilified. Are calls to customer service numbers really recorded for training or quality improvement purposes? How many times does a veil of deceit mask a truth? Not intentional deceit, but deceit born out of automatic and repeated action caused by a shallow sense of purpose, a lack of thinking and reflection; a loss of context and perspective. And the organisation acts for it’s own convenience and protection, not for the customer.

The result is mediocrity. Which is a great shame as I’m convinced we don’t work with the aim of being mediocre. We soar when we can be connected, creative, collaborative and part of a collective purpose that appeals to our individual sense of greater purpose. Some organisations achieve this… for a while. Those with the courage to question, listen and stay open to a changing context can achieve it for much longer.

I agree with Euan Semple's recent blog entry; conversation counts, both on the inside and the outside of the corporate walls.