Eight Foot Geese and Customer Experience Management

I saw a flock of eight foot tall geese yesterday. It was awesome.

They were waddling majestically (when you’re eight feet tall, even waddling is majestic) in front of a row of thirty foot pine trees. I caught them in the corner of my eye, and they didn’t register at first because I was in the midst of an intense business discussion. Then I realized what I’d seen and looked closer—and of course the trees were just ten feet high and they were regular three foot geese. I had been fooled because there were no human-scaled objects—benches, cars, people—nearby, so there was nothing to frame my impression.

There’s certainly a business lesson in that story. Maybe it's about the importance of metrics, or putting things in perspective, or keeping real customers in view. Or knowing the context or keeping your focus. Perhaps I’ll use it one of those ways some day. But for now, just close your eyes and imagine a slow-moving flock of giant geese in front some pine trees.

It’s awesome.