Did you ever meet a big-wig from some ever-so-important, is on the cover of Fast Company type of organization, who thinks his leadership is spot on? But he never once asks a question about you, your company or what YOU do. He hardly even listens to you. It's all about his blah, blah, blah. I call these executives "Chimp CEOs." They're deaf, mute, and blind to anything that does not relate to them. If you go to industry confabs a lot, you hear a lot of this simian chatter.Hardly an example of a leader who thinks like he or she belongs in the C Suite.
And in today's economy, it's not just an annoying act of hubris, it's a disastrous strategy, especially where your customers are concerned.
The best CXOs listen as much as they talk. George Colony, CEO of Forrester Research in an earlier ZD Net article, talks about the need not only to listen, but to have a conversation.
And a CEO who takes listening and having conversations with customers to the next level is Anne Mulcahy, Xerox's CLB (Chief Listening Babe).
In a recent Fox News piece, Mulcahy talked about the need to really listen to her customers. And Xerox is listening hard as customers tell Mulcahy about their need to reduce the number of copies they produce. Her response might surprise you. Sell them more Xerox copiers? Infuse their supply closets with Xerox ink products and toners? Nope. She's teaching customers how they can cut down on the copies they make! She saved Key Corp $1 million a year. And in the process, Xerox's services business is going like gangbusters.
What I really like about Mulcahy is that she realizes the best strategy a savvy executive can take these days is to follow the dictum, "Lips Together, Ears Open." Listen more. Really listen to what your customers are saying, and find a solution that enables you both to grow. True CXO thinking.
Now that's a stimulus plan every CEO should follow.
