By Mike Bedel, CPA, CGMA
Partner, Director of Audit & Assurance Services
[email protected]
The broken windows theory is a criminological theory that visible signs of crime — such as shattered glass and graffiti — create an environment that encourages further destruction. It’s the idea that little drawbacks can lead to large disasters. As social scientists George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson wrote in the 1982 article “Broken Windows”: “Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building.”
So, how does this apply to you and your business? If you ignore your company’s flaws — its “broken windows” — more problems will spread throughout your entire operation.
When problems go unaddressed, they’re doomed to repeat themselves. Soon a mistake becomes standard operating procedure. That lowers the bar for other areas of your business. Employees take less pride in what they do, impacting productivity and morale. Clients notice they aren’t getting the level of customer service they’re accustomed to, and they begin to look for other partnerships. You and your fellow team members must hold one another accountable for your desired level of performance across all measures of performance — not only with your customers but also with your “inside customers,” those responsible for the getting product or service “out the door!”
Think about when pizza lovers turned their backs on Domino’s. The pizza chain patched up that broken window in a remarkable way. After countless customers complained about the “cardboard crust” and “ketchup-like sauce,” Domino’s launched the Pizza Turnaround project in the mid-2000s. The corporate team pored over comments on social media and in focus group footage, going back to the drawing board to create a brand new product. Domino’s also created a marketing campaign with commercials featuring its chefs taking the new pizza straight to the doors of the company’s harshest critics.
This mea culpa campaign paid off. Domino’s increased its share of the pizza restaurant market from 9 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2016. That year, it had the fastest growth rate among the top 10 quick-service chains.
The important lesson here is to own up to your faults and take criticism into account. Rather than letting complaints slip through the cracks, Domino’s faced them head on and boosted its business.
Like Domino’s, take a fresh look at your business and repair broken windows before they cause further damage. Make sure your website is up to date, increase your responsiveness to emails and phone calls, ask employees and clients about the issues that are slipping through the cracks.
Success is in the details. Don’t lose sight of the flaws in your company, even if they’re too small for customers to see. Patch them up before they grow bigger. As the adage goes, “Worry about the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.” You must be tenacious and persistent in your desire to succeed!
If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business or personal affairs, please contact Mike Bedel at (317) 613-7852 or email [email protected].