(By the way, I’m using “Textile”:http://www.textism.com/tools/textile/ for the first time in this post. We’ll see how I like the resultant HTML.)
I’ve taken a new job, as mentioned before. This time I am to become the (first ever? for this organization) business owner of the interface of a variety of online and offline software. Which got me to thinking: where will my authority come from?
I’ve been the owner of the interface for smaller projects in smaller markets, with or without strong upper management support, with or without an organizational focus on the customer, with or without resources available (including time) to do some user testing, etc. And in any of these cases, sustainable authority has been somewhat hard to come by.
As I see it, authority can come from only a handful of sources. First, there is intellect. This has been my crutch for far too long; I’ve been limping along on intellect, and especially reading and reason well beyond what decency would permit. Sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of reluctance, sometimes out of stinginess. Intellect is good and useful, but cannot stand alone.
Second there is the borrowed authority of a superior. This can be an effective place from which to gain a bit of authority, but as with all things human, it is a political, fickle, temporary authority, and not to be leant upon.
Third, there is the customer. This is what we want, correct? The customer to anoint our efforts (and thereby ourselves) by purchasing our products and services, using our software, recommending us to friends? Yes, the customers are human, and the above caveats (political, fickle, temporary) apply. But seeking and measuring your authority at the customer closes the loop, irrespective (to whatever extent possible) of the vagaries of management and coworkers.
Those who train dogs, especially for service (police, rescue, assistive companionship, etc.), say that you cannot make a dog obey, you cannot assert yourself and take control. Rather you earn the respect and trust of the animal, and it chooses to obey. Not to liken customers too strongly to dogs, but in this narrow scope the comparison is apt; customers choose to follow your lead if you earn their respect, pay attention to their needs, ask them how you can help.
