The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

Now it’s clear why: Generic documents are depersonalizing. Here’s the same pamphlet we’re handing to everyone. Responsiveness is not compatible with a canned agenda.

First, the leader knows what truth he wants to share. Guthrie’s truth: Our customers can’t use our product. Kar’s: These villagers are making themselves sick. Second, the realization strikes fast. It takes minutes or hours, not weeks or months. Tripping happens quickly.

How could such a small intervention have such a big effect? We are accustomed to thinking about relationships in terms of time: The longer the relationship endures, the closer it must grow. But relationships don’t proceed in steady, predictable increments. There’s no guarantee that they will deepen with time.

This three-part recipe—a (1) clear insight (2) compressed in time and (3) discovered by the audience itself—provides a blueprint for us when we want people to confront uncomfortable truths.

moments: (1) the best or worst moment, known as the “peak”; and (2) the ending. Psychologists call it the “peak-end rule.”

His question, “What did you guys fail at this week?” was a push to stretch.

Customers will forgive small swimming pools and underwhelming room décor, as long as some moments are magical. The surprise about great service experiences is that they are mostly forgettable and occasionally remarkable.

Instead, having filled the pits in their service, they scramble to pave the potholes—the minor problems and annoyances. It’s as though the leaders aspire to create a complaint-free service rather than an extraordinary one.

To avoid this kind of oversight, we must understand when special moments are needed. We must learn to think in moments, to spot the occasions that are worthy of investment.