Jan Carlzon Quotes

#1. If anything goes wrong, the customer doesn't care whose fault it is. He's the one who's going to suffer anyway.

Jan Carlzon

#2. Setting a good example is truly the most effective means of communication - and setting a poor one is disastrous!

Jan Carlzon

#3. If you're not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is.

Jan Carlzon

#4. Quality doesn't mean we have to be 100 percent better in any one thing; it means we strive to be 1 percent better in 100 things.

Jan Carlzon

#5. You cannot improve one thing by 1000% but you can improve 1000 little things by 1%.

Jan Carlzon

#6. I learned that, before you reach an objective, you must be ready with a new one, and you must start to communicate it to the organization. But it is not the goal itself that is important.

Jan Carlzon

#7. SAS is 'created' 50 million times a year, 15 seconds at a time. These 50 million 'moments of truth' are the moments that ultimately determine whether SAS will succeed or fail as a company. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative.

Jan Carlzon

#8. Giving someone the freedom to take responsibility releases resources that would otherwise remain concealed.

Jan Carlzon

#9. Do not fear adversity. Remember, a kite rises against the wind rather than with it. People are not willing to take risks when they feel afraid or threatened. But if you manage people by love-that is, if you show them respect and trust-they start to perform up to their real capabilities.

Jan Carlzon

#10. Excellence doesn't mean we have to be 100% better in any one thing: it means we strive to be 1% better in 100 things.

Jan Carlzon

#11. An individual without information can't take responsibility. An individual with information can't help but take responsibility.

Jan Carlzon

#12. The only thing that counts is a satisfied customer.

Jan Carlzon

#13. A true leader is one who designs the cathedral and then shares the vision that inspires others to build it.

Jan Carlzon

#14. Problems should be solved on the spot, as soon as they arise. No front-line employee should have to wait for a supervisor's permission

Jan Carlzon

#15. Any time a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, is an opportunity to form an impression.

Jan Carlzon

#16. We have 50,000 moments of truth every day.

Jan Carlzon

#17. The moral of the story: perceptions are everything. During each moment you are in contact with a customer, you are the organization.

Jan Carlzon