The chicken or the egg dilemma is commonly stated as "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" To ancient philosophers, the question about the first chicken or egg also evoked the questions of how life and the universe in general began.
Metaphorically the question can be reformulated as: "Which came first, X that can't come without Y, or Y that can't come without X?"
Let’s apply this dilemma to the workforce. The Employee or The Customer?
I offer my opinion in my book: The Pied Piper Principle; Lead, and They Will Follow
“Principle #56 – What is more important – The Customer or The Employee?
Although there may be lots of reasons to pick one over the other there is one important difference. Without a customer, you have no business. Yet without employees, you have no product to sell or service to offer. The employee is the most important aspect of your business.
Picture the customer that knocks on the door and there is no employee
to answers. Or, the client that makes the call with no one to pick up the
phone.
When you have employees you will always have someone to create the
merchandize, sell the service and collect the money.
Of course a business without customers closes. The customer must be
valued and treated like gold. An
interesting thing occurs when a leader treats their employees like a priceless
gem. The employees in turn, do the same with the customers.”
Show me happy employees and I'll show you happy customers!
Let me know who you think comes first.
