From the inside looking...well...in.

The always dead-on John Moore recently distilled a systemic business problem while commenting on his Brand Autopsy blog about word-of-mouth marketing:

"The major reason why word-of-mouth hasn't taken off is not because marketers lack the metrics to measure it. It’s because most products, services, and businesses simply aren’t worth talking about."

Just chew on that for a while and you'll soon see just how brilliant a statement that is.  There's a new business book that helps explain what we in business can do about it.

Douglas Rushkoff gives business a whack in the head with his new book, Get Back In The Box.  To whit:

Too many companies are obsessed with window dressing because they're reluctant, no, afraid, to look at whatever it is they really do and evaluate it from the inside out. When things are down, CEOs turn to consultants and marketers to rethink, rebrand or repackage whatever it is they are selling, when they should be getting back on the factory floor, into the stores, or out to the research labs where their product is actually made, sold, or conceived.

I've worked as an executive in both Fortune 500 and midsized companies and this problem is prevalent within both. Who better knows your strengths and weaknesses than your own employees? Just ask...and they'll tell you.

It's equally important to ask your customers. My company recently invited 10 clients to our headquarters. We learned that we were doing a lot of things well. But we also learned where we were falling short and, most importantly, by sharing our vision of the future (including our product road map) we were able to receive true, unvarnished feedback. Adjustments were made. And we're glad we asked.

When looking in your own box, don't forget the customers that are in the box with you.