What does it take to be customer-centric?

Many a times, it is easy for companies to talk about being customer-centric, customer-focussed etc. But, it needs the right attitude and mindset in people who work for the organization, to make it happen on the ground.  Here's a set of rules from a book called Exceeding Customer Expectations and I found them to be an extremely useful list to remember and practice everyday.

I also feel this is an important checklist against which you could rate the people who you would like to recruit. Check out what they feel about these rules and some examples of where they have practiced it in their eariler jobs! Without wasting anymore time, here's the list:

1. A passion for taking care of customers.
2. A willingness to be flexible.
3. A work ethic based on dedication to the company and its mission.
4. An eagerness to learn a new business and work their way up.
5. Self-motivation and goal-orientation.
6. Persuasive sales skills.
7. Excellent communication skills.
8. Leadership ability.