The Cycling Business?

“𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥” – Bob Peterson

Most people have experienced the phenomenon: fashions, however awful, do come round again; however ‘out there’ new music seems to get, popular music tastes still come back; political priorities are driven by cyclical societal trends. How many of you even during the height of COVID felt deep down that this will right itself, because things always come full circle? Even Mufasa has got in on the act.

Humans are surrounded by a cyclical environment, with biological rhythms, natural cycles (seasons, lunar phases, etc.) and our means of learning – we repeat behaviours that have led to good outcomes before. Our psychology is affected by ‘recency bias’ which makes us more likely to repeat recent behaviours. Economic cycles are well-documented, and there is even generational theory that suggests societal behaviour and attitudes cycle every four generations.

All this is exacerbated by society’s tendency to swing from one extreme to the other in a cycle of reaction and counter-reaction.

All these cycles, and knowing that they do and will come round, can have the effect of creating indifference and apathy. And apathy is not the friend of the business world.

By example, and as a general, sweeping statement, it is a fairly common view at present that customer service is pretty poor. It has been accepted for a while as being an inevitable consequence of lockdowns and the ‘Great Resignation’. However, humans will only tolerate this for so long, and it does feel like the tide is now beginning to turn.

How do you spot apathy in your business? Employees will become more uninterested, less productive and absenteeism is likely to increase while morale suffers. Customers will buy less, engage less with marketing and feedback, and customer churn will increase markedly.

So, what to do as a business leader? Be self-aware. Acutely so. Businesses should monitor for these signs of apathy and take proactive steps to address it.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲. Open a dialogue to understand the needs and concerns. Making yourself available will be a big part of the solution.

𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡. Really listen. Understand what is causing apathy, and listen to how you can address them.

This will ensure that employees and customers 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗱 – another critical psychology.

Be present – listen – make them feel valued. Easy to write down, but can you make it happen?

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦, 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.”
― Mandy Hale