I think this shows where most corporations' priorities lie. Sadly.
Most larger companies, and many mid-sized as well, have Chief Operating Officers and even Chief Technology Officers.
There is infinitely smaller chance that your head of human resources (I prefer the department-name "People") goes by the title Chief. Yet what's more important to the success of an organization, people or money?*
And there is next to no chance that your firm has a Chief Customer Officer. More's the pity, because again I have to ask you, what is more important, money or customers?
"Money enables us to hire people!" some will surely say. I hear you. Money rocks - this blog is a paean to wise Capitalism, after all!
"Without money to keep the doors open, we can't serve our customers!" the same folks will argue.
Ah, but let's not put our cart before our horse on either score, shall we? And let's limit our focus today to customers - we'll get back to the all-important People of your company at a later date.
Does your company have a Chief Customer Officer? If not, perhaps it's time you created the spot. Like all C-level spots, this person should report directly to the CEO, and be an intricate part of her team and of her strategic vision.
Of course, the title itself only matters as a symbol. Later this week, I'll introduce you to a man who served in the CCO position while wearing a vice president's name badge - that's eminently possible: indeed, I'm not a big one for standing on ceremony.
The important thing is to have a person, right up near the top, whose livelihood is dedicated to making sure the customer is not merely satisfied or happy, but damn-well delighted.
Do you have a Chief Customer Officer? If not... well, it's never too late, is it?
*To tip my hat to Jack Welch for a second time in less than a week, you can read the iconic manager's take on the relative importance of these two departments in his book, Winning.
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