Good morning!As my first posting, it behoovs me to say thank you for this forum!
Issue One - Where Are The Heros?
~I recently walked into a restaurant and waited several minutes....watching as several employees walked briskly by, none acknowledging my existence. After all, they were busy....busy doing things....important things! .... one slowly wiped the remnants of an earlier patron's dinner from the top of a table, another was on phone, the person on the other end seemed upset...(I wonder why).
"Why am I here?" I began to wonder, until finally someone without an expression asked if my order was for here or to go. My answer was equally unenthusiastic. "To go please" And after that, I did go.....somplace else from then on.
It seems that genuine concern for one's clients or customers is on life-support and at risk of withering into oblivion. In fact, Customer service, follow-up, and overall meaningful business relationships seem to get in the way of our daily mundane tasks that we tend to put at the forefront of our work existence (which also ironically is exactly what makes us miserable in our jobs).
So the questions of the day must be.....
Why are we in this business in the first place?
To whom or what do we owe our existence in the world of business?
Where are the champions of business that used to lead the way?
Where have all our heros gone?
I'm afraid that little by little, the best of business and relationship practices are being choked out by the very systematic approach to life that many business seem to be taking...and that is mediocracy. Mediocracy is the love child of selfishness!
Why is it important to care? It's simple..... true human nature is built on one simple principle... "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". By believing in and adhering to this practice your neighbor/client/friend/coleague, etc., will look to you the giver as a leader, one who is not selfish....a genuine friend. One who puts others first will always live a happier life and most likely live longer.
Remember that most businesses do not grow from apathy. Instead, true success is born of the genuine practice of actually caring about their clients/customer's needs. Most business models that lose this philosophy tend to go into decline and will likely suffer monetary setbacks and public scrutiny (Remember General Motors?) They then turn to a whole different approach which usually consist of better communication and customer relationships which will hopefully get them back to where they were before they lost business in the first place....by doing that which made them great in the earlier years of their existence. How ironic!
In summary, being genuinely interested in your clients needs will make them feel much better about not only doing business with you in the future, but insisting to their friends and family that they must also do business with you!
So where are the heros? What about you? Where does your business model fit in this scenario? The darker the world of business seems, the brighter any light will be.
Larry
(Larry Elliott is the leading Mortgage Consultant with Weber Financial Services Inc. of Johnson City, Tennessee 4 years in a row and advises hundreds of clients and peers in the best approach to finding the right mortgage for their home and business)
**Please tune in for the next posting from Larry on the art of Discovery!
