When Jan Carlzon took over at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in 1981 the airline was losing money and in danger of collapse.

In just over a year he transformed the fortunes of the business, taking earnings up £60 million and this all against the tide of general decline in the profits of international airlines.

So how did he do it?

And how can this method for success be applied to your accountancy firm?

Jan Carlzon focused on customer care, he was committed to it, he saw it very simply as the key to making SAS successful.

He coined the phrase ‘Moments of Truth’ – these are moments where the client comes into contact with your firm, where important impressions are formed by clients about your firm and where there is significant opportunity for good or bad impressions to be made.

Carlzon worked out that 10 million customers a year typically saw 5 x SAS staff and each ‘moment of truth’ (point of contact) would last approximately 15 seconds – so 15 seconds to make a good or a bad impression.

These are crucial moments for SAS to prove that they are the best airline to use and better than all the competition.

How long do you and your team have to make a good impression with your clients – 15 seconds, 15 minutes, 15 days??

How do you use your crucial ‘moments of truth’ to prove to your clients you are better than the competition?