In her recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Moss Kanter reminds us that “The Internet Changes Everything — Except Four Things.” http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2011/05/the-internet-changes-everythin.html
The four constants are:
- A great customer experience differentiates winners from losers.
- The human side is critical to the use of technology.
- Money needs to change hands.
- Government and business still talk past one another.
I definitely agree with her. The Internet is, after all, technology. And we, after all, are still people.
The author ends on this insightful note: “For all the new world hype, the old world has a major role to play. And sometimes focusing on what is not changing helps us figure out how to best master changes. We still need to find, delight, and excite customers. We need business models that pay people fairly for their work. Businesses must make a credible case to government that they act in the public interest. And the best asset for mastering change is still that old classic: leadership.”
As the old French expression goes, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” And these four things are basics.
I must confess, though, I’m beginning to develop an allergy to the expression “a great customer experience” and “delight” as applied to the customer. Perhaps I’ve been talking a bit to much to AT&T.