Page 98 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Never a Customer, Always a Guest 79

Listening to Customers Pays

You can’t expect to have a group of 35 people without a few among them
exhibiting a “show me” attitude. “I was trying to establish a culture that was
strange to them—a departure from the norm that they had always worked
in,” Whirlpool’s McColgin asserts. Yet in the end, the cohesion of this
international team and the prevalent belief in the goals that were set proved
the skeptics wrong.
Jerry challenged the team members to utilize their international exper-
tise in discovering and fulfilling the needs of their international clients and
suppliers. The members from Brazil, or India, or any other of the countries
represented were, in effect, wearing two hats. Professionally, they were engi-
neers or marketing people, but back home they were also customers, who
were now sitting right in the room with Whirlpool’s American employees.
They knew what the needs of their own people were.
Focus groups were also used in this international market to determine
customer dreams and desires for the product. Several participants said that
they wanted ice trays. Corrosion resistance was an issue in tropical regions.
A quiet motor was important in countries where the refrigerator often
stood in the living room. And the number of kilowatts per hour—the cost
of the electricity—was a major factor in other areas.
Seriously listening to the customer resulted in cost savings and a bet-
ter product for the team’s international customer base.

Our Featured Organization: Griffin Hospital

CHANGING THE FACE OF HEALTHCARE
In the mid 1980s, Griffin Hospital’s maternity ward was a nightmare for
expecting mothers. Not only was the all-male obstetrical staff growing weary
of the stress from working in the department and eager for retirement,
but it was also rumored they didn’t like women at all. At least one patient
described the Griffin maternity ward as a “dungeon.” When deliveries had
plummeted by 50 percent, the hospital board met over whether to close
Griffin’s maternity ward and open a geriatric center. Nearly split down the
middle, the board ended up listening to its only female member. She had
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