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Broken Windows, Broken Business
How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards...
[Michael Levine] 12/5/05

By: Michael Levine The broken windows theory was such a revolutionary, seminal concept in criminal justice that when it was published in 1982, it was considered a complete and total reversal of everything that had come before it. The notion that perception was as important in controlling crime as statistics, that letting “small” crimes slide by was sending a signal not only that the criminals were in charge but that the police were either unwilling or unable to stop them, was laughed at, ridiculed, considered absurd or “radical.”

It wasn’t until the theory was put into practice in the 1990’s on the world’s largest stage, in the city of New York, that its seeming simplicity was shown to be genius. Between Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton, the commitment to fixing New York’s broken windows – graffiti, fare jumping, squeegee wielding, and the like – might have sounded like an assault on an insignificant annoyance, but it was actually a call to arms, a declaration of war on crime, that proved to be the salvation of a city in crisis.

To adhere to the law, one simply manages to live without violating the set code. Simple enough. But to maintain order in a city, country, or company, the goal must be to have everyone follow the same rules and to make sure that each rule carries the same weight.

Rules don’t have to be universal, either; they can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, as the authors of “Broken Windows” discovered when the Newark, New Jersey, police made sure more officers on foot patrol were dispatched as an experiment in the 1970s. Wilson and Kelling noted that “these rules were defined and enforced in collaboration with the regulars‚ on the street. Another neighborhood might have different rules, but these, everybody understood, were the rules for this neighborhood.”

The rules in and of themselves were not exactly revolutionary, nor were they especially strict. There was not a “no tolerance” policy for addicts or alcoholics – they were simply asked to stay in certain areas and to not do certain things in public places. But the rules, as stated, were expected to be enforced, every one.

It wasn’t until the little details, the minor infractions, were dealt with that the quality of day-to-day life for citizens of the city showed noticeable improvement, and at that point, real change could be achieved.

Now, how does this apply to business?

The broken windows theory is all about the unmistakable power of perception, about what people see and the conclusions they drew from it. What is important is that as the quality of life in these areas improved, even on a scale that might seem insignificant, the population began feeling better about its surroundings, and that led to significant change.

In business, perception is even more critical. The way a customer (or potential customer) perceives your business is a crucial element in your success or failure.

For example, let’s say you have bought your coffee at the same store every day for the past five years on your way to work in the morning. The counter staff knows your name, knows your usual order, and can anticipate your preferences.

But one day, even without thinking about it, you happen to notice as you stand in line waiting to order that the walls haven’t been painted in years. There are slight cracks and chips in the paint just behind the counter help.

Maybe you start to wonder if those paint chips aren’t falling into the coffee or onto a surface where rolls and bagels are cut and prepared for sale. It’s just possible that you consider which other aspects of the store’s physical plant – including its cleanliness ˆ might be in disrepair.

That one little perception can pack an extraordinary wallop, can’t it?

It’s not a place the owner would want his customers to go. And if he takes care of broken windows like the paint job, he can avoid such mental journeys. From this moment on, consider how everything seems to your customers, your employees, the public in general.

It doesn’t matter if you tell a suspicious customer about your scrupulous cleaning techniques, your patented methods for keeping the food away from anything that might fall on it, or your plan to speed up counter lines. Mostly, it doesn’t matter because the customer isn’t ever going to tell you about her concerns; she’s just not coming back to your store again.

If you‚re not obsessed with the details of your business, you can believe me, there will be someone who is obsessed with his, and he will see to it that he overruns your customer rolls and decimates the loyalty you’ve built up with your regular clientele. Your business to put it simply, will not survive too many broken windows, And too many is one.

Consider the case of Martha Stewart. She was convicted of wrongdoings involved with covering up whatever alleged improprieties had gone on. Why was she trying cover up? Because she was concerned about the perception that her business was unscrupulous and that she, personally, was not trustworthy. You can’t fix a broken window by throwing rocks through all the others.

History is littered with the carcasses of officials who were discarded after trying to cover up something that might not have been as serious a scandal had it been dealt with quickly and efficiently – and publicly.

But what constitutes a broken window in business? It’s easy to spot the physical ones, like the peeling paint on a wall, but what about the less obvious problems? What about employees who don’t follow the company’s stated policies and present a flawed, incorrect picture to the consuming public?

Well, consider the case of the world’s largest restaurant chain. Its broken windows have come very close to bringing down the house. Indeed, consider the case of McDonald’s, which once was considered (and considered itself) invincible, and see what broken windows can do, even to a giant. -one-

Michael Levine is the founder of LCO- Levine Communications Office, a Los Angeles-based public relations firm, and the author of 17 books, including Broken Windows (Warner Books, 2005). www.LCOonline.com

copyright 2005 Michael Levine

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