I want to deliver bricks. They are easy to understand, they are nice and firm with defined edges. They come in a standard length and width. With bricks you know what you are getting.
Yes but I want water. I’m not sure what I want, it’s not easy to describe but it will come to me when I see it. I need something that is flexible, something that flows, something that’s adaptable to any shape that I need it to fill.
Yes but I want to deliver bricks. I can stack them neatly, I can measure them, I can produce them at a standard rate. It’s never a question of what shape you want with bricks, just a question of how many. With bricks you can build in quality, every one is the same, over and over again.
Yes but I don’t want the same thing, I want something specific to me, tailored to my needs. I want something that seems personal, something made just for me even though really I know it’s not.
But I can make anything out of bricks, well almost anything as long as it is oblong and hard with straight edges and needs to be robust and weather proof. With bricks I can plan my business better, I can stack them on pallets, I can fit them into lorries. Just tell me how big a thing you want and I can tell you in an instant how many bricks you are going to need. Job done! All you need to do is tell me what you want.
Yes but I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what it looks like, I don’t know what shape it is and I certainly don’t know how many bricks it needs. What I want is an experience, not just a product. I want you to listen to me, to get to know me and build your products and services around me. I want a relationship, an engagement, something warm and fluffy with blurred edges that may not be exactly perfect but something which I will be happy with, something which belongs to me.
Yes but that is not the way my organisation is set up. We’re designed to make bricks, we’re set up to deliver bricks. Bricks are our business and that is what our customers are going to get.
Yes but that’s not what I want and I’m not buying. I cannot be your customer!
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 