About the book

This book must have been a bright flash in the world of business books during the days when it was published. Jan Carlzons thinking is fresh and the lessons of the book are still valid.

“Moments of Truth” was published in 1987, but it has not lost the magic of customer-driven thinking. That in our mind the second important notion about the book is that if Carlzon was able to develop such a holistic approach towards customer-driven thinking thirty years ago – how hard can it be for us to be customer-driven today?

What are the key learnings?

The key lesson for me is the name of the book – moments of truth. “Moments of Truth” is all about the 15 seconds that you typically spend with a customer (within airline industry). During those 15 seconds the customer defines the entire customer relationship.

Second lesson is that we must re-define middle management. In his Swedish version he talks about “riv ner pyramiden” – tear down the pyramid. Get rid of hindering hierarchies.

Third and last lesson was that by empowering people by spreading responsibility you unleash a money making monster.

These three key lessons can be found from the first pages of the book. Rest of the book is spent on scrutinising other topics. For example explaining his business operations in companies such as Vingresor, Linjeflyg and SAS. Do not skip the rest of the book. Carlzon in fact helps you to get grip of the book.

Other lessons of the book are:

·     SAS existed in the era when Sweden was leaping from rural society into modern welfare state.

·     Power of pricing. SAS dropped the ticket prices on average with 11 %, but the number of passengers increased 44 %. Talk about price sensitivity.

·     Carlzons recipe was to reorient SAS “towards the needs of the market it serves”. He wanted to restore the olive into customers’ the martini”.

·     “Love is in the Air” was the tune of SAS when Carlzon started his change management activities. So Swedish choice!

Carlzon talks a lot about leaders and leadership. He sees that leaders To Do –list consists the following topics:

–      Define clear strategy and goals.

–      Communicate it.

–      Train your people to take responsibility.

In Carlzons’ thinking a leader is a listener, communicator and educator.

How should we change according to the book?

We should everybody understand the Latin concept of company. In Latin company comes from two words – com and panis. Com means “our”. “Panis” means bread. So company is our common bread.

What should I personally do?

If Jan Carlzon saw diversity as one of the key drivers in innovative thinking – we must follow him.

Summary

The book in six words – “An individual without information cannot take responsibility; an individual who is given information cannot help but take responsibility“.