Customers 1, Experts 0

Last night I heard on television and this morning I read online about the NBA's decision to go back to the old ball on January 1 for the rest of the year.

All of the new ball/old ball story can be referenced from this post, where I talk about the problem with the new ball from an important perspective - the perspective of the players (i.e. the Customers).

The good news of this change back, is that much like what Coca-Cola learned with New Coke; better is defined first, and most importantly by the Customer, not by management, the experts or anyone else.

Kudos to the NBA for rethinking their decision and kudos to the players for speaking their discontent.

The score?

Customers 1, Experts 0.

The NBA will no doubt reopen their look at an improved ball. Here's hoping they learned their lesson and include their Customers in the process next time.

Are you including your Customers (both internal and external) in your perceived process and product improvements?

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