"What a dump!"
My teammate was commenting on a vendor’s HQ, and he wasn’t wrong. Beyond the claustrophobic architecture, the shag carpet had long lost its shag and the wood paneling was imbued with decades of cigarette smoke. Indeed, it was a dump.
Technically speaking, the physical space has nothing in common with the digital space. The differences don’t interest me tho. The overlap, the parallels, those, however, are ripe with insights about the human experience.
They both reflect how and what you value about experience.
As with this vendor, if you’re fine with subjecting your customers to a dingy, dank, and disgusting physical experience, than an equally depressing digital experience will surprise no one.
If, on the other hand, you express hospitality, accessibility, cleanliness, and attention to detail through your physical environment, your digital experience should follow suit.
I work with a client who gets this. They inspire me. They have translated their expectations for quality and their care for people into a resonant physical and digital experience. When I walk into their office I feel considered and I can see their values expressed in the craftsmanship. They approach their digital properties with the same care.
Their physical and digital experience has integrity.
Integrity.
We don’t talk about integrity enough in the digital space. The conversation gets muddled by “brand”.
The digital experience is an expression of values. Like all expressions, we have to continually ask: does this expression adequately represent my values? When they do, the experience has integrity. When they don’t, people notice the lack of integrity.
I help leaders express their values through a digital experience. I help leaders build integrity.
Photo by Ivan Vranić on Unsplash
