Did customer visit to some big companies, the type that carries more than 10,000 employees and listed on the college graduate’s would-like-to-get-in company chart. Not necessary innovative and cutting edge, but always huge. This chart has always been filled with the traditional and major players in each industry. The top ranked names changes but their trait (huge and looks stable) never changes. Freshmens are chasing reliability and dependency, and getting risk-averse. However at the bookstores, I see thousands of books&magazines touting this world is now unreliable and independent, and that winners are who willing to take risk.
When I want to check what is most missing from a person/company/society, it always works to check the word that are most frequently coming out. In my case, it is “desire” and “commitment” 😉 The media is filled with the word “risk”: this is what missing. The younger generation’s action shown in the above research proves it. It’s not their fault, it’s their parent generation’s fault. Kids always imitates adult’s tendency, conciously or subconciously.
The above link site comments the young people’s tendency in this way: “They are starting to choose the companies as individual entities: they are not merely selecting the industry they will work in” I guess he wants to say the graduates are getting individual. He is either a hopeless dumbass or ordered to say so. Say it loud – those kids just want to be in a big group and it is OK as long as the company is big and they can believe it will continue to be big – the writer will lose his job for telling the truth (but I will check his name and read his articles). I believe there are more and more people who agree with me, and if the research company continues to provide brain candy for the media who writes stories and THEN adds the backup data, the researcher will soon find themselves no more smarter than the freshmen.
Now the customer visit. Explaining the merit of adopting our solution in front of emotionless people might be comparable to giving out Kleenex on the street.
“Why are they so silent?” I get this question from my non-Japanese colleagues.
I reply “They are trying to get as much information as possible without showing what they have”
Saying so, I realize it doesn’t sound like talking about businessperson. Maybe my colleagues felt like they had been talking with bunch of con-men who should be playing cards instead of working in office. I feel tired and old: I said too much.English is a cruel and revealing language when used without proper care, and I still automatically takes off all the wrapping hesitation and roundedness, leaving unencouraging and barren fact.
These situations have their merit. I realize how much I care about MY business, more than how much THEY care about our offering. Do I want to continue this? Is it worth it? From the customer’s perspective, being silent is making the other person in front of you volunteerly naked.
“Take off your clothes. Show us more” they whispers without saying anything. And the poor guy (me) realizes how much confidence he has in his body, which is normally hidden under the loose-fitting clothes.
Of course the other side can see much easier. Why do we(actually we as men) enjoy watching stripping? Because we feel we have conquered something, we have TOTAL control over the subject. The more the subject be ashamed, the more the observer becomes excited, despite their facial expression nonexistent.
It is a tactic that works. I can also use it when I want to create a nonexistent aura around me. Especially when the other side asks me some questions: pretend I don’t understand what they are asking! pretend they don’t deserve asking that question!