An Essay on Loyalty
...inciple when making choices. • For the older generation of clients, particular adults who have finished their academic training and are economically contributing members of society, the potential for incorporating all of the principles are much lower. This is not to suggest that adults are less loyal than minors. It reflects the fact that children have not yet matured to the point where they are prepared to define the principles that will guide them through the rest of their lives. On the other hand, because adults have largely decided what their values and principles are, it becomes more challenging to effectively align the values of Grand Master Lee with those of the adult clients. In this sense, the definition of loyalty, as measured by how well a client has incorporated the principles taught by Grand Master Lee, would be difficult to apply uniformly to all practitioners of Grand Master Lee’s program. • In the second case, loyalty can be measured by the frequency with which clients are renewing their memberships and by which clients purchase secondary products from Grand Master Lee’s school. This relationship of loyalty is easier to measure and, in particular, can help Grand Master Lee with respect to determining a more profitable mix of products and services. The premise of this definition of loyalty is that the Grand Master Lee adopts the basic elements of a free market with the objective of making a profit on the basis of his personal knowledge. • To maximize the revenue stream per client, it is important for Grand Master Lee to understand the behaviours of particular types of clients. An analogy would be similar to a combat scenario: Understanding how an opponent behaves can be a critical factor in understanding how to defeat an opponent. • With this example, understanding how specific clients behave can provide sufficient information to find the profit maximizing price for each type client. This means segmenting the client mix into measurable characteristics. In this sense, clients who have been identified as potentially highly profitable could be provided with greater services. The basis of this treatment would be to increase the likelihood of converting potentially highly profitable clients into a more reliable, and profitable, revenue stream. • Interestingly, business literature suggests that client surveys may not be the most appropriate manner in which to measure the relationship between client satisfaction and the probability of a client continuing to purchase products and services from the same organization. In fact, one research company noted that in the automobile sector, 90% of clients indicated that they were at least satisfied with the product they purchased. However, less than half of all clients actually repurchase the product a second time. Personal Views on Loyalty • With respect to this author’s view on loyalty, there is no single factor that accurately pre-determines decisions at any given moment. Clearly, the principles espoused by Grand Master Lee do have a certain appeal and merit consideration. However, other factors, such as religion, military service, cultural values, personal upbringing, and the totality of my experience to date also play an important role in determining my values as a citizen of Canada. • To complicate the issue further, the factors that contribute to my personal values can change on a case by case basis. For example, my military service and my cultural background has taught me the importance of pride in my country of birth, Canada, and the country of my heritage, France (of which I am also a citizen). • Without prejudice to these countries that have produced tremendous value to modern civilization, my primary responsibility is to my 17 month old daughter. In this context, my loyalty to my daughter is paramount and cannot be surpassed. • Loyalty to my daughter implies a lifelong commitment that will require time, common sense, flexibility, respect, patience, money. To ...