Review: The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The best recommendation I can give is that I am contemplating providing this book to my new team, as it inspired me to think about how we engage in the most important moments and make important moments alive.

'Our lives are measured in moments, and defining moments are the ones that endure in our memories.'

Every single one of us has the opportunity to turn what we do for each other, and our customers, into truly defining moments from their perspective. Too often we spend time considering what we do in terms of what we achieve, rather than how it will make the moment special for our customers.

'Moments matter. And what an opportunity we miss when we leave them to chance!'

This book provides many memorable moments, some of my personal favourites are:

• 'This is what we mean by “thinking in moments”: to recognise where the prose of life needs punctuation. We’ll explore three situations that deserve punctuation: transitions, milestones, and pits. Transitions are classic occasions for defining moments. Pits are the opposite of peaks. They are negative defining moments—moments of hardship or pain or anxiety.

• 'Beware the soul-sucking force of “reasonableness.” Otherwise you risk deflating your peaks. Speed bumps are reasonable. Mount Everest is not reasonable.'

• 'In the service business, a good surprise is one that delights employees as well as customers.'

• 'Executives who are leading change should be deliberate about creating peaks that demarcate the shift from the “old way” to the “new way.” The heart of change, after all, is the need to break the script.'

• 'Creating more memorable and meaningful experiences is a worthy goal—for your work, for the people you care about, and for you personally—independent of any secondary impacts.'

Specifically, in the financial services sector, 'banks miss countless opportunities to boost customer loyalty by creating moments, and the lack of attention to these moments contradicts banks’ talk about building strong relationships with clients. A relationship in which one party is oblivious to the most profound moments in the life of the other is no relationship at all'.

We all realise that our working lives need purpose, and that purpose is to deliver memorable moments for customers in what they experience in their lives. It is therefore so important 'to defy the forgettable flatness of everyday work and life by creating a few precious moments'.

A great message for each of us to follow.

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