Data doesn't lead - people do. Or don't.

In high-pressure systems, KPIs aren’t the leadership - they're the scoreboard.
Organizations that confuse metrics for support, are confused.

In the Forbes Coaches Council, we were asked what CEOs could learn about this Jeff Bezos story:

During a leadership meeting when he was still serving as Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos one called Amazon's customer service line on speakerphone and waited on hold for more than four minutes, revealing a critical gap between reported metrics and actual customer experiences. His simple but direct intervention illustrated for his executive team how relying solely on reported data can sometimes mask deeper issues that affect customer satisfaction and, ultimately, a company’s bottom line.

Here's what I said:

💡
"What Bezos did is a “mic drop” moment! I’ve been the one cleaning up behind those. Recognize that public accountability makes people uncomfortable. So, be ready! Prepare to handle the uncomfortableness with the following: 1. a non-threatening delivery, 2. someone else to hold everyone accountable, and 3. a plan for how you’ll support them through the necessary business changes."

~ Kinga Vajda, Agile Group Leader, Forbes Coaches Council

Public accountability is not a good idea when it's coming from an executive that is far removed. Then breakdown in systems should have been detected well before; and the failure is on the system.

Read "15 Ways CEOs Can Balance KPIs And Real-Time Intervention For Better CX" here:

Full Article on Forbes

🛡️ This quote was originally published by Forbes as part of a Forbes Coaches Council Expert Panel. Reprinted here with permission in accordance with member guidelines.