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We are above average!
I had an interesting discussion on performance matrices last night. The team was happy that we were performing better than the average organization, but I wasn't.
I shared that in certain performance satisfaction indexes, we should set and aim for an absolute number. Without an absolute target, we risk being fundamentally surprised by customer revolt if our comparison organizations slip and the average correspondingly drops.
To me, customer satisfaction is not static and evolves in complex comparisons with an ideal that extends beyond specific industries. Thus unless we are dissatisfied with being above average, we will not strive to do things differently to get us to the next level.
This push to seek new, different and better ways of doing things is especially critical for traditional industries that are lulled into a sense of complacency accepting that this is the way things are.
So while benchmarks are useful, I believe it is equally important to also know when they are not.
