Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.
By David Aronchick
I feel sorry for the TSA. They have totally conflicting constituents, have ownership over a miserable process and have to do it with constantly churning employees and techniques that change every time some creative nut job figures out a new way to jam C4 in his ear. And after all that, what do you get? NationalOpt-OutDay. So what is a $6.8 billion organization to do, and what can it teach you about your startup?
You (federal government) and I (random startup) are not so different. Sure, our budgets differ by roughly $10 trillion, but we both have extremely broad target audiences that we are trying to connect with and fail 99% of the time. And, when we try to get our message across, most of the time it gets unheard or, worse, totally misinterpreted. But all hope is not lost; with the right attitude, you can even take something away from the angry, insane users we are both trying to help.
The best thing to do in these situations is to maintain perspective. Let me illustrate some of the most egregious issues:
- Listening to your users will (often) cause your head to explode. The TSA has to deal with totally contradictory goals. Goal 1: People want instant passage, to be able to walk with one minute before the flight is ready to take off, from curb to gate. Goal 2: They want total security, ensuring that the malicious passenger sporting a bottle of hair spray that could some how cause a small fire, slightly singeing some horrible upholstery be immediately locked up for life. Neither of them are possible by themselves, yet customers want both!
- Sometimes user passion brings no benefit. Generally speaking, user passion is a wonderful thing. Love or hate, if a user cares, you have won (thanks Kathy Sierra!). However, passion does not always tell you what way to go. For example, though it does produce some side-splitting Reddit threads, the user hatred of TSA procedures does not tell them one thing about how to balance the needs of security and civil rights. They have to come to that conclusion on their own.
- It is (almost always) about theater not results. Seth Godin had a very insightful post today, correctly identifying what the goal of the TSA really should be – theater. You can spend as long as you want getting your numbers where you want, but one slip and you lose control of the story. I promise you if a terrorist made it through the security line with a gun, the news stories would not detail the millions of people who pass through the gate every day with no issues.
- People do not always place the blame (or give the credit) where it is deserved. As people complain about the long lines, or the fact that “the resistance” is being man-handled, how many do you think are thinking, “Boy, I sure am glad I can fly on this plane without being exploded?” Hardly. In fact, if people would really rational, they would blame each other; most of the reason we have any of these checks is so that people can feel (artificially) safe!
How to reconcile this insanity? You. You must understand where you want to take your company and go, regardless of the noise. Apple is a great example of this; EVERYONE has ideas for the iPhone from new carriers, to open sourcing, to unlimited app stores. But Steve Jobs takes the higher road and guides the product line towards his vision. Sure, he leaves out any people who do not buy into his vision, but those that do are completely committed.
By rising up above the fray, your clarity of vision will show through, and be a magnet for a passionate following. Make no mistake, having engaged users is fantastic, and you should definitely listen to the commentary. But it is up to you to stay calm, and filter the chaos for whatever benefit you can. Because if you dive into the swamp, the only thing you are guaranteed to get is dirty.
