http://forums.regonline.com/blogs/bill_flaggs_blog/archive/2006/08/23/516.aspxIf you could pick only one number to measure the vibrancy of an organization, what would it be? Most business people I know pick growth rates or market share. Three years ago I picked referral rates... the percentage of clients that recommenden-USCommunityServer 2.0 (Build: 60217.2664)http://forums.regonline.com/blogs/bill_flaggs_blog/archive/2006/08/23/516.aspx#551Sat, 26 Aug 2006 03:39:51 GMTa59d7ccb-ad12-4530-95e2-6b9a8faf2585:551RuprectSo the moral of the story is don’t trust CEO friends and never read HBR articles? <br> <br>Kidding! &nbsp;I completely agree with you that a company should be able to not only survive, but thrive based on the satisfaction of their customers. &nbsp;Sales departments exist to grease the skids, but ultimately your long term success will depend upon whether or not your customers continue to come back to you and bring more with them when you do. &nbsp; <br> <br>http://forums.regonline.com/blogs/bill_flaggs_blog/archive/2006/08/23/516.aspx#558Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:14:56 GMTa59d7ccb-ad12-4530-95e2-6b9a8faf2585:558Bill FlaggThanks Ruprect, I agree with your &quot;Sales departments grease the skids&quot; comment and view sales as a welcome wagon - to be of service in making people's decisions easier, not to &quot;sell&quot; people. Also, I think we all wish more companies would see the value in their customers instead of putting most of their energies into recruiting more customers.