52. Focus on Customers First
In today's competitive environment, the primacy of customers should be etched deeply in every person's brain. Thomas M. Siebel, CEO of Siebel Systems Inc., gets this point. His company walls contain pictures of customers who have purchased Siebel's sales-management and customer service software. He engages a twenty-four-hour engineering SWAT team to solve problems when customers call. Company commissions and bonuses are tied to how clients feel about the service they get. Because his company sells customer service software, Siebel believes he must model service to his customers with laserlike intensity. Sales at Siebel Systems rose 80 percent in 1999.
Master leaders know they must focus on two categories of customers, ...
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