Today is January 7 and the Navigate the Chaos question is "Are you offering what others need?"
In How Will You Measure Your Life, Clayton Christensen shares the story of a fast-food restaurant chain that hired Christensen’s research company to understand why 40 percent of milkshakes were purchased in the morning.
Interviews with customers who purchased a morning milkshake revealed that they had a long commute to work.
The milkshake was easy to drink in the car, filled them until lunch and was enjoyable to drink.
The researchers concluded that customers hired the milkshake to do a very specific job.
The customers faced a long, boring commute, had one free hand and needed something to stave off hunger until noon.
The milkshake was hired in lieu of a bagel or doughnut because it was relatively tidy and appetite-quenching, and because trying to suck a thick liquid through a thin straw gave customers something to do with their boring commute.
To improve customer satisfaction the “company created a morning milkshake that was even thicker (to last through a long commute) and more interesting (with chunks of fruit) than its predecessor.”
The chain also created a different milkshake more appealing to parents who wanted to provide a special treat for their children.
This milkshake, unlike the morning version, was easier for young children to drink.
We can apply the same lessons to our relationships.
The milkshake story helps us understand that people in our life need certain things and it is our job to figure out what they need.
We can do this by listening, placing aside our own needs, and making ourselves available for those in our life.
All too often we think our approach is helpful but what would better serve our relationship is asking the other person "what do you need?"
For example, if a father sees that his son is upset and buys him a gift to cheer him up; perhaps all the child needed was for the father to listen to him instead.
Conversely, we have people in our life, or seek them out, to fill certain roles. We have someone we go to for specific purposes.
Who do you seek out when you need to talk about relationship issues? Do you go to someone else to discuss your career issues?
The next time you are talking to someone ask yourself what they need. Might be that you are offering a bagel but what they really want is a milkshake?
As Robert Ingersoll noted “We rise by lifting others.”
As you go about your day, consider asking yourself "How often are you offering what others need?"