Transactional vs. Experiential Leaders

Most executives are 'transactional leaders'. They believe employees are hired labour and see their relationship as a transactional arrangement at best with little loyalty on either side. Transactional leadership tends to deliver compliance but not commitment. If you want people to stay you have to bribe them through increased pay and perks. By contrast, Robert Stephens, founder of The Geek Squad, who was speaking at the conference, believes that a company today is like a social network that has 'temporary custody of talent', and that you have to build in social links to help unite that talent around a common purpose. In other words you have to create an environment of learning and fun if you want people to stay with you.

In Robert's view, it is absolutely fine if your people leave to advance themselves, but not for any other reason. He also believes that 'recruitment is the most authentic form of advertising' and so goes out of his way not to 'sell' the Geek Squad to candidates but to tell it like it is as part of the recruitment process - the need for dedication, devotion to duty, hard work and obsessive attention to speed and quality.If we look at how market places evolve and companies compete over time, the centrality of belief in shaping reality becomes clear. A good example is MP3 players. If you believe that they are purely functional, then that is how you will compete and your culture will mirror that, focusing on costs and features primarily. You will tend to manage by the numbers. If you believe that you can add value through service, as Apple did with iTunes, then marketing assumes greater importance and brand loyalty and market share will be your focus.

If you believe that customer experience is the greatest differentiator, as I do, and Robert Stephens does, then the culture you need is likely to be more engaging and emotional (EQ rather than IQ) and experiential itself. In this case measuring the customer and the employee experience become the dominant focus. This is where Apple is heading with its retail stores.

Coutersy - Shaun Smith, Perfect CEM