Choose Your Customers

Choose Your Customer

There’s a market for businesses who will deal with people who will treat their employees like shit.

There’s a market for businesses who will only work with sincere and caring people.

There’s a market for businesses who work exclusively with families other others with singles.

Aside from there being a market for a specific product or service, there’s another layer that includes some people and excludes other.

There are shoes for the snobby and shoes for the chill. Brake lights for the burly folks and brake lights for the light-hearted.

The best thing you can do for your business (and, more importantly, for your employees) is to make it clear who your customer is, and that often begins by stating who your customer isn’t.

 

Stay Positive & You Get To Choose, Don’t Ever Think Otherwise

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Most Problems

Problem Solvers

Most problems get solved.

It’s really not a matter of if they will, it’s a matter of when they will.

And if you have the opportunity to solve a problem or point it out for a person or company to solve, why don’t you? Better sooner than later, right?

And don’t forget. You may benefit in the moment, but dozens, hundreds maybe thousands of others will benefit from you down the road because you pointed to a problem or simply solved it.

Their happiness is on you.

And, potentially, so is their unhappiness.

 

Stay Positive & If You Have The Problem, Chances Are Someone Else Does Too

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Post-Decision

Post-Decision Statement

You know what you would tell your boss after you make a decision.

You know what you would tell your parents or your significant other.

You might even know what you would tell your closest friends.

But what will you tell everyone else? The one’s silently observing your every move? The one’s who believed you stood for something that’s opposite your new decision? The one’s who you’ve built trust with?

Certainly it’s worth considering what statement you’d make prior to a decision, not post.

 

Stay Positive & What About To Your Tribe?

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Letting It

Letting It Go

You have two options when you’ve had a poor experience.

You can let it bring you down, which is the default for most (myself included).

I’m still bugged by an absolutely terrible experience with Hilton Garden Inn from a week ago.

The other option is that you can let it go, which is undoubtedly the better option.

No one said it’s the easier option, just the better one.

 

Stay Positive & Let It Go Go Go

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A Better Product

Better, Not More

There was once an adage around the fact you’ll receive 10x more complaints than you will compliments.

In response, you can follow Jay Baer’s advice and Hug Your Haters. There’s merit in that.

However, better to make a better product than let the complaints continue.

Simply because one assumes that people are more likely to complain than compliment doesn’t mean it’s okay.

Those who take the complaints as a nudge to get better are the ones, who, well, get better.

 

Stay Positive & You Are After Better, Right? Not More?

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Layers Of Communicational Impact At Work

Team Effort

Like a long-distance relationship, work can be done between remote locations.

That’s why there’s Zoom, Slack, Skype and Microsoft Teams.

But just as what’s required from the long-distance relationship, both parties at work need to put in the effort, time and care into communicating across the distance.

Alas, the work gets done, but more often than not, it’s only good enough work.

The next layer of communication is a bit deeper and more personal. It involves close proximity and the ability for face-time, but more often than not, one party still sends an email, and if it’s important, maybe a phone call.

The result is better work because the feedback loop is tighter and the connection to one another is stronger by geographic nature. So, unlike the long-distance interactions, you can more clearly sense the team effort, efficiency and 2X the care.

The third, more meaningful layer involves close proximity and proactive face-to-face communication. This includes the drive-bys, the running into one another throughout the work space, the in-person meetings and, more often than not, work sessions with all parties involved.

No work is better than work done by a team whose sum is greater than all its parts.

 

Stay Positive & Give Sending An Email A Second Thought

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When Was It Last Zero

Start At Zero

We’re often so quick to take something that exists and bring it to another level.

A presentation already has 15 slides, what if we add 5 more?

There’s already a committee for recruitment, let’s add another for retention.

How can we grow X by 20 percent?

Of course, growth is a good thing … except when it’s not.

And it’s not when we’ve forgotten the why of why we started in the first place.

Too often we fall back on the anchor of where we are, rather than the why of how we got here.

Next time you’re working to elevate an idea, consider how long ago it was at zero and why it all began. You may discover that less is more or maybe adding 5 isn’t enough, you need to add 50.

 

Stay Positive & All About Retrospection

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