When things go wrong in business (and they always do), customers aren’t measuring you against perfection.
They’re measuring you against how quickly you step up, take ownership, and move the work forward. That’s why the path to strong, lasting customer trust in business isn’t paved with flawless delivery. It’s built on accountability, resilience, and progress over perfection.
For years, “good service” was enough: answer the call, close the ticket, meet the SLA. But in today’s complex IT environments, that’s the minimum. True partnership requires something deeper. It means listening closely, understanding priorities, and co-owning the difficult parts of a project.
When a customer sees that you’re willing to share the burden instead of passing it along, you move from being just a vendor to being an ally. That shift creates the kind of business partnership trust that no service level agreement can guarantee.
Problems in IT projects are inevitable. Owning the problem doesn’t mean you need to have all the answers at once. It means reacting quickly when something goes wrong, staying close to the customer, and showing them you care enough to stay until the end.
It also means escalation is not failure. If something needs executive alignment, raising it quickly proves commitment to protecting the customer experience. Ignoring it only allows small issues to become bigger ones.
When everything feels urgent, where do you start? The key is to align with what matters most to the customer. Progress means momentum. Focus on the step that has the greatest impact, create a clear plan, and keep moving forward together.
Perfection slows everything down. Progress builds trust. And trust compounds with every decision, every issue addressed, and every promise kept.
Accountability can’t rest on process alone; it has to be cultural. Every employee, from project managers to finance teams, plays a role in the customer experience.
Leaders must create the conditions for accountability to thrive. That means encouraging people to speak up quickly, reassuring them that they’ll be supported if they take risks to do right by the customer, and reinforcing the message that accountability stretches across the whole organisation. When teams feel leadership is their safety net, they’re far more willing to take ownership and solve problems head-on.
That cultural shift takes time, but it pays dividends in long-term customer relationships.
Some of the most powerful moments come when a customer never has to ask for help. Listening closely, monitoring situations, and training teams to raise potential issues before they escalate can change the game entirely.
This proactive approach strengthens customer experience accountability and shows a client that you’re committed not only to fixing what’s broken but also to protecting them from problems they may not even know exist. At Compugen, this mindset has inspired the creation of multi-division teams that work across silos. Shared accountability leads to stronger collaboration, faster responses, and better outcomes.
Sports offer one of the clearest lenses for accountability, and football might be the ultimate example. Every play depends on 11 people — 12 in the CFL — executing their roles with precision. If even one player misses an assignment, the entire effort can collapse.
Take the quarterback. They may be the face of the franchise, but their success is tied directly to the offensive line. Give them time and space, and they can look like a superstar. Leave them unprotected, and even the best quarterback can be forced into mistakes. How many interceptions have we seen thrown under pressure, not because of poor judgment but because the pocket collapsed too soon?
The same holds true on defense. In zone or man-to-man coverage, if one player loses track of their assignment, the opponent finds the opening and capitalizes. A single lapse in discipline can undo the work of ten — or 11 — others who did their job perfectly.
Business accountability works exactly the same way. Leaders can’t stay on the sidelines calling plays and hoping for flawless execution. They need to step in when it counts, shoulder the toughest challenges, and model the behaviour they want to see in their teams.
And just like in football, customers remember how you performed under pressure. Did you hold your ground and play your role when it mattered most? Did you close the gap when the opening appeared? Those moments build trust in a way no quarterly report or project plan ever could.
At the end of the day, customers want to know one thing: can they count on you when it matters most? They don’t expect perfection. They expect partnership. When you show creativity, leadership, and persistence in tough moments, you don’t just fix the problem — you build enduring trust.
Perfection fades fast. Trust endures. The businesses that will win are those that own the problem, prioritize progress, and make accountability part of their DNA.
The next time something goes wrong (and it will), don’t chase perfection. Own it. Move forward. That’s how true partners are made.
At Compugen, we believe progress over perfection is the path to stronger partnerships. Connect with us to explore how accountability can transform your IT experience.