One of the most innovative companies of our time is under fire by users of the new iPhone 4.  A recent article in Information Week titled Jobs Dismisses iPhone Complaints, Angers Users reported a backlash from the hyped-up users of Apple’s latest product.

Steve Jobs (Apple’s CEO) allegedly dismissed the feedback as rumors rather than fact.  He may or may not be in the best position to know the truth about the phone.  There is sure to be one way Mr. Jobs or anyone in his position can find out.

Going to the points of transaction where business is conducted.  If complaints are coming in from customerswe have what is called failure demand.  Failure demand eats away at revenue and profits as customers are put off and expenses to deal with failure demand increase.

What is mystifying to me is why CEOs either don’t know whether they have failure demand or deny knowledge if they do.  Are they trying to protect the company?  If so, if the problem is real it almost always comes back to haunt them in terms of even greater losses in customers and costs.

I don’t know if  the iPhone 4 has issues or not.  I do know that any CEO can find out by having an ear to the front-line and familiarizing themselves with failure demand.

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Make the new decade a profitable and rewarding one, start a new path here.  Download free from www.newsystemsthinking.com “Understanding Your Organization as a System” and gain knowledge of systems thinking or contact us about how to get started at tripp@newsystemsthinking.com.  Reach him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TriBabbitt or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/trippbabbitt.

Tripp Babbitt is a columist (Quality Digest and IQPC), speaker, and consultant to private and public service industry.