notes and views on products and people who make them

Do Companies Have Souls?

DO COMPANIES HAVE SOULS? Companies that have a character do so thanks to countless individual souls working in concert.

Doc Searls doesn’t really speak about soul in the post linked below; instead, he’s analyzing the experience that Starbucks provides to its customers. These two are different animals. The experience is a sum of values exchanged in the transaction; it Starbucks, this translates to the coffee I drank, the music I listened to (willingly or not), the barista’s smile or lack thereof, etc. Put in another words, experience is an aggregate product that companies build and customers consume.

I imagine the company’s soul is a manifestation of an invisible network of relationships and is co-created and experienced by those inside. It’s a set of values and principles governing day-to-day tasks.

The soul and its shape and quality affects that product in some way, though I would argue that even soulless companies can provide a wonderful experience. For instance, my friends in a symphony are often forced to submit to a sadistic conductor who makes their job a living hell; when they go on stage, however, they uplift and caress and ennoble the audience with an experience that is a direct product of the orchestra’s hellish soul.

CRM is mostly concerned with the experience, and I am afraid that by emphasising processes, tools and technologies, CRM is hurting the soul. It’s fine to have a company-wide survey system so that management can get an answer it needs from everybody, but “companies that relate to their employees only through surveys and emails” are “soulless places to work” indeed. (Adriana) I sincerely hope that the efforts put in defining CRM 2.0 will address the cultural issues as earnestly as the technological and business ones.

UPDATE 03/03: readers weigh in – check out the comments. Also, Doc Searls responds on his blog – thanks!

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Media Influencer: Souls in peril
Doc Searls: The sole of Starbucks
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March 1, 2007 | Filed Under CRM 

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3 Responses to “Do Companies Have Souls?”

  1. Perry P. Perkins on March 2nd, 2007

    Thomas,

    Great post! I hope you’ll forgive me if I tend to agree with Doc Searls on this one, however.

    Specifically, you commented that “The soul and its shape and quality affects that product in some way, though I would argue that even soulless companies can provide a wonderful experience.”

    I would agree that a “soulless” company may be able to create a wonderful product, but I think that it’s the soul of the company that makes a great experience, and without it, that “wonderful product” will come and go quickly. I think this will be seen even clearer as we move toward a more and more “relationship marketing” environment.

    Starbucks had the unique position of being the first to produce and market their product in the way they did, but as time progresses and more and more companies follow in their footsteps, it’s their “soul” (or lack of it) that is going to determine their continued success.

    Starbucks “product” is not coffee. I can get coffee almost anywhere these days, in qualities equal to or greater than they offer. Starbucks product is the experience I have from the time I walk through the door until the time I leave, and that, sadly, is becoming more and more soulless.

    A friend of mine likes to say, “you don’t make broth, it’s what comes out when the meat’s cooked” ie: the natural by product of the process.

    If Starbuck’s “soul” is to create a great customer experience, while at the same time providing great coffee…this is what will come out. If it’s just pouring as many cups as they can, then their in trouble, as there are countless others who are willing to provide the former.

    Sadly, my experience with Starbucks has leaned more and more towards the latter.

    As far as your symphony reference, I would question how much greater the experience would be if its members were not treated poorly, and how it compares with those who aren’t.

    The level of customer experience provided in SPITE of a soul is never going to compare with great customer service that flows naturally from the company’s ideals and mission (or it’s “soul” if you prefer.)

    -Perry

  2. Coffee Wars Part Two « iwork4xerox on March 2nd, 2007

    [...] Also in the fray is Thomas Kohl who seems  to be questioning if the “soul” of a company is reflected in the experience of its customers, and asks, “Do Companies Have Souls?” [...]

  3. Tomas Kohl on March 3rd, 2007

    Thanks, Perry, for your comment! You wrote:

    “The level of customer experience provided in SPITE of a soul is never going to compare with great customer service that flows naturally from the company’s ideals and mission.”

    Yes, and perhaps my symphony reference isn’t the best example. Musicians are extremely motivated to “max-out” their potential during a performance, which explains why most orchestras are under a totalitarian regime and still create wonderful experiences.

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