Doing The Right Thing
I read once that Nelson Mandela could have been released from that South African prison a lot earlier, if he would have sworn not to speak out about the evils of apartiheid once released.
Got me thinking…
Doing the right thing was never meant to be easy because of the following:
- Greatness only allows those who can do the right thing to enter.
- If it were easy, then…
- Like the fields, tilling is essential and it hurts.
- It needs to be built, and building implies pain.
- Life and order depend on it.
What would you add to the list?
It’s Almost Never About You
We're self-preservationists at heart. This works well if shipwrecked or lost in the jungle. In general, though, it's a dangerous mindset.
Where this really shows up is when we are trying use clients to get us to where we want to go, which is unethical. But it also shows up when we're honestly trying to help. Either way you need to stop and realize what's number one. As in, your client. No talking points, no radio spots, just authentic love.
If you've built your career/business model around "you first," then it will be painful to change. You may have already tuned me off if that last sentence applies.
The following outlines some ideas to consider as you seek to get it right with existing clients, and prospective one's too:
- Just like God, a client's time-frame may not be the same as yours. And if you're in the "service" business (we all are), then you don't get to make this call. You can be polite in persistence, but ultimately you're a servant.
- Stop marketing that you care, when your actions communicate something different. Washington, D.C. may have made us think that everyone has a price, but most clients desire authenticity.
- Be willing to risk loss. Those who have lost, even though they did there best, change the world and are wildly successful.
- Stand your ground in the face of critics and conformists. If memory serves, the word is courage.
- Your work is truly a motion picture. Make it the kind that people want to see over and over again.
Twisting Fate
I can't remember exactly how many times Thomas Edison failed as he tried to bring his light bulb idea to life. Was it a hundred failed experiments? Maybe it was a thousand. Regardless, he failed multiple times.
This post really isn't about overcoming failure, though that could be helpful. I really want to explore the mindset of having a willingness to stumble, a willingness to be the fool, the willingness to launch something most in the herd don't see nor understand.
I think we're way to willing to accept dime-store imitations (you fill in the blank here) when it comes to creative and inspiring leaders. And by the way, creative and inspiring leaders are the types of leaders with substance and reality backing them up. I'm not referring to a leader of a three-ring-circus or some executive who pulls out talking points from 5 years ago.
I'm not sure we recognize authentic when we see it.
Preserving your rep. at the expense of something given to you by heaven is foolish. Your mortgage, 401K, bonuses or a nice fat promotion won't be there for you in the long run. Those are temporary states that can change in a moment. We know this to be true, whether we're willing to admit it or not.
Could it be that Edison was not so special? What if everyone was supposed to pursue an end, even if it meant repeated failure? What separated Edison from his herd was his willingness to take the step of twisting fate even if he didn't know where it would ultimately lead. I define twisting fate as someone who acts on faith, realizing that the final product/outcome will resemble a mosaic more than a picture-perfect portrait.
This is hard work that many turn away from.
Emotional Control
Regardless of the business you're in, or a owner of, it's vital that you control your emotions. Specifcially, around how you treat your customers. Way too many organizations are led and operated by those who allow emotions to rule the day.
For example, if you're a retailer and a customer returns a shirt because the quality and fit are not up to their expectations, don't frown with disgust because their at the return desk/department. It's an opportunity to grow the relationship. Maybe there's a problem with QC at the factory where the shirts are sourced. Don't wait until there's three boxes of returned shirts to get clued into a problem. Customers do want to engage about your product-if you let them.
Sadly, most employees forget (if their thinking about the customer at all) that the customer comes in expecting to be treated…less than warm. When you or an employee confirm that expectation, the customer convinces themselves that another store is there better option. If the employee taking the return would have been prepared (or been trained/developed) in the art of restraint and vision, the result might be radically different. Controlling our emotional urges requires practice.
A friend once told me that you'll know how much a service/product provider really cares about you when a problem arises.
Maybe you should start a program around training/developing emotional control (EC). Yes, your manager/leaders will have to engage with the staff. But that's what they should be doing anyway. Think of what you might discover? Your customers might discover something remarkable in a landscape full of the "unremarkable."
What Are You Hanging Onto?
Whether it's social media stardom or the next viral marketing campaign, your identity can easily be sucked in. You may ask what does it matter? It matters much. Examine where your identity rests and you'll know what you're hanging onto.
The greatest artists, thinkers, and entrepreneurs are the ones who have a graceful indifference to their craft. By that I mean they pour themselves out not thinking of what may come next. It's beautiful to observe.
Maybe they're content to let eternity judge the quality or significance of their work. It really doesn't matter…see Steve Jobs, Miles Davis, Nelson Mandela or Mother Teresa here for a flesh example.
The answer to this post's question is nothing.
Hang onto nothing and change the world.
What Marketing Can’t Fix
Here are some things marketing can't fix:
- Leaders who wear masks
- Followers that have lost faith
- A culture broken from the start
- Unwillingness to change
- Organizations that don't put the customer first-really
- A salesforce only focused on sales
- An organization that doesn't aspire to something greater than last years results
- Apathy
- Wounded clients
- Exhausted faux-marketing techniques
The Entrepreneur Connection
If you're not hanging out with other entrepreneurs (positive ones), you're crazy. Don't mean to be so direct, but it really can help. I've been discovering this in the last few weeks. Big revelation, huh?
The power is found in the connection. You'll find you're not alone, which is often the case inside of an employment situation. Everyone is self-employed anyway. That's why this is not just for the self-employed. That's right, even if you're employed you should be doing all you can to connect with other like-minded folk. The universe is too big to go it alone.
And if you think of yourself as a freak or an outsider, you'll find other freaks and outsiders in these confines. Don't be a best kept secret.
Don’t Be Charmed By Security
Even with the economic conditions here in the States, specifically the employment situation, many still seem to be charmed by security. I'm alluding to security in the form of career/work. Now certainly, some have all but concluded that security is a myth. But I find many career/work pilgrims are disturbed by current trends.
I used to be in that group, but am now a freak of the not-so-weird variety. Why? I entered my period of mass disruption almost 4 years ago. Back then many felt certain about the future. Now…
Well, let's face it, life (all things in) has never been certain. And that's part of our problem. We bought the marketing message of "too big to fail." I know we're better off with a sense of not taking anything for granted. Especially since that's the way business and life were supposed to be conducted/lived. Leaders of the highly developed nature know this to be true.
We just haven't done a good job at handling success and good times.
Now's the time to embrace uncertainty and insecure times. Watch your values shift and find out what right alignment is all about. I think the following might open up for you:
- God knows what he's doing.
- Family and relationships trump everything but #1.
- You don't need as much as you think (trust me, the economy will be ok).
- You'll demand more of your organization. For example, your paid for your results, not your time.
- Taking a pay cut in order to do something impacting will seem right as rain.
The Problem With Small Getting Large
One of my favorite merchants in the town I live in, is not one of my favorites anymore.
They once were small and engaging, but now world domination seems to be the order of the day. No more "we'll search and see if we can get it" or "haven't seen you in the store lately." I miss being Eric to them.
The problem with some entrepreneurs is they are trying to fill a void by being "uber-successful." What is forgotten is what get's left behind-the customer.
By the way, the void above is rarely filled by getting large.
I'm appreciating small these days.