‘Broken systems get worse when we confuse the loud voices with the important ones. Spend a lot of time listening to the loudest complaints and you will elevate those voices to importance, because you’re no longer carefully listening to the more easily overlooked constituents’.
Seth Godin examines how the need for attention (or ATTENTION as Godin expresses it) demanded by the loudest voice within the organisation causes us to serve a false purpose, not the one we have promised to our staff, the people we do the work for, or ourselves.
The customer or staff member who complains the most, says the scariest things, loudly threatens if they don’t get their own way – do they represent what the organisation should stand for? Leaders have to be tough to get alongside the own fears and feelings, and be brave enough to resist the loud voices and listen to the important ones.