Humans love to find patterns – we are pattern finding machines. Don’t believe me, sit in front of a vintage television tuned off-station. Watch the television snow – the visual chaos of buzzing color dots. After a surprisingly short time, you will begin to see images emerge from the visual static. Some of these images will be so detailed and so specific that you will become convinced that somehow a nearby channel has shifted frequency and the television is now displaying a partial transmission. Even with no antenna,  no cable, no signal input of any sort, you will not be able to shake the notion that the television is somehow picking up images from some source – they can become that sharp in detail.

You are correct to assume that there is a source of origin for these images. However, do not look to the television or satellite as the source of these images. There is a source. That source is you. Somehow, somewhere lurking amongst the lumps of neural circuitry that passes for your brain is a little something or other responsible for these images emerging.

If you feel inclined to be impressed by your ability to create a detailed image of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco from the stuff of television snow – go ahead, be impressed.  But don’t be surprised. After all, are you not able to create amazingly detailed, fully tactile hallucinations at night? The same salt-water bioware  that creates these dreams could easily make a horse and cowboy from television static.

Not only is the human brain eminently capable of finding these patterns, it wants to. 
Humans love to find patterns – patterns in sights, patterns in sounds, patterns in actions, patterns in intentions, patterns in behavior, patterns in movement. patterns in just about everything. In fact, every form of data perceptible by the human is subjected to this pattern finding mania.

How did we come to do this? The answer to this is an interesting study in evolution, and the anthropology of humans.

How do we do this? The answer to this is a thoroughly engrossing adventure in biology, chemistry, neurology, and every other aspect of  human biophysics.

What comes of this pattern finding? The answer to this could lead us into the deeper recesses of human psychology.

Where we do this? The answer to this can provide a handle on the engineering of entertainment and the human environment.

The above questions while full of potential, are beyond the scope of this short discussion – remember it’s supposed to be about Jazz Art. For the moment, the fact that this mania for pattern finding exists is enough.

Take it as given that we love to find patterns.

You’ll notice that I’ve said: “we love to find patterns.” A simpler formulation of this might be “we find patterns.” But that would overlook the essential element – we love to find patterns. Not only are we good at finding patterns, we take pleasure in doing it.

The text below is extracted from a book I’m currently working on.

Perhaps you have heard the quote “An unexamined life is not worth living.” While you may attribute this to Johnny Depp or yet another Hollywood celeb, the quote actually comes to us from a friend of Bill & Ted – Socrates.

It was during the punishment phase of his trial, that Socrates uttered these words: An unexamined life is not worth living. He was convicted of being an interloping old fart – and generally a nuisance to the state. You see, Socrates had this habit of poking and prying and generally seeking after truth. The state took a dim view of this behavior.

When asked during the penalty phase whether he should be killed, exiled, or imprisoned Socrates suggested he should be given a reward for his selfless contributions to Athenian society. For some reason this suggestion did not sit well with the judges. Ultimately, Socrates chose death as a final punctuation mark for his stated view that participation in conversation whose goal is the search for wisdom is essential for the nurturing and growth of a soul as well as for the health and welfare of the state. And this is how a hemlock frappuccino became the exclamation point of Socrates life.

While we certainly aren’t suggesting a hemlock frappuccino, we definitely advocate participation in conversation whose goal is the search for wisdom and nurturing the growth of a soul – i.e. living an examined life. There are many ways to go about this. Socratic Debate is one method, journaling is another, and the RPS (Roll Playing Safari) Game is yet another.

I was reading an article by Jakob Nielsen on Website Response Times, when an odd thought crept into my the edges of my awareness. What if we applied these comments to communication response rather than browser response?

When a user clicks on a link in their browser they expect the browser to respond by fetching the page and rendering it in the browser window. Not only do they have an expectation that this event will occur, they have very definite expectations about how the event will occur.

They expect the returned page to be the one they clicked on. They expect the page to be rendered rapidly. And, they expect the page to be rendered well.

Jakob points out in his excellent article, two of key reasons for the need for speed is: 1) As we wait for response the inevitability of short term memory erasure causes us to suffer the decay of information. 2) We like to feel in control of our destinies rather than subjugated to the whims and control of something else. And when companies make us wait instead of providing responsive service they seem arrogant or incompetent.

These comments work equally well whether talking about response time from clicking a url on a web page or or a customers communication through email, phone, or what have you.

When a customer contacts you it is important to do the following:

• Reply promptly.
• Reply in a fashion they recognize as related to their question.
• Reply well.

It is more important to reply promptly then correctly. If you don’t have the answer to a customers question, or if you know you cannot give the customer the answer they want, still reply quickly. Even if it is only to say, we got your question and will answer it soon.

Within the first sentence of the first paragraph you need to say something that tells the customer you “got” their question. If you do not in some way duplicate back to the customer their question, they may think you did not receive the original question. Or, they may think you are too stupid to understand the question. Or, worse yet, they may think you have no regard for their question as written — and by extension, no regard for the customer. So at best you will look incompetent, and at worst you will look callous and uncaring.

And it is important that your response is rendered well. Start with spell check and grammar check. But, don’t stop there. Actually re-read your response to see it from the perspective of the customer. Is the answer well handled. This will reflect significantly on you and your company. Unfortunately you have more opportunity to lose points than to gain points. Customers expect a well formulated response. So if you answer well, that is par for the course — no extra points for doing your job as expected. But, if you respond poorly, you will lose points big time.

All of these points make sense, and have been covered before separately — and perhaps even together. The thing which struck me today was a new rationale for why this makes sense. It goes beyond following protocols that have been proven in the past to have good results. It gets right down to the meat of the matter.

These suggestions are made because they 1) Get back to the customer at a time when they still remember why they wanted to contact you in the first place — while it is still new business. And, 2) It allows to feel in control rather than subjugated to your whim.

When the customer initiates communication they are predisposed to communication — maybe not purchase, but certainly communication. You have their interest, and you have their attention. Having a customer’s attention is paramount. Without it nothing is possible. So act while you have that attention.

Allowing the customer to maintain that sense of control will keep thing flowing. Make the customer feel like they are at your whim and under your control and you lose their willing participation. You might be able to trick them to do what you want in any case. But it is so much better to have a willing participant in any interaction.

If you are the kind of person, or the kind of company, that allows the customer to have a sense of control, you will go much further — and have a better time getting there.

You will note, however, that I have been careful to say “allow the customer a sense of control. It is possible to control the flow of communication and get your business done while allowing the customer to feel empowered.

And this brings me to the something I was hoping to communicate. I know businesses want to do their business. If they are in the business of selling cars, they want to sell cars. If they are in the business of selling cable services, they want to sell cable service. But, here’s the thing. If they just change how they do their business they can contribute to the healing of the world and still do business.

It is totally possible to sell cable service and deliver that service without at the same time making the customers feel powerless and at the whim of uncaring forces over which they have no control and can expect no mercy. I believe there is a model of business that will still get the job done and treat the customers with dignity.

The simple act of treating customers with dignity could go a long way toward healing the deep wounds from which so many suffer. I know this runs counter to the abusive “me: tyrannical feudal lord” and “you: serf” attitude so prevalent amongst power possessors in our corporate culture. Still it would be nice.