Here are 7 things to remember about people with money:
Profit is a privilege.
I’ve read the Constitution front to back; I’ve studied the Declaration of Independence from preamble thru John Hancock’s signature. And you know what? “The right to make a profit” isn’t in there. It’s not in the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s not in the Star Spangled Banner. Thou shalt make a profit isn’t one of the Ten Commandments. It’s not even on the dollar bill. But too many corporations act like making a profit is some sort of inalienable right guaranteed to every “inc.” But they’re wrong. Profit is not a civil right.
No business is owed success. Nobody owes you a Fortune 500 slot. Nobody owes you consecutive quarters of growth. Profit is a privilege that you earn. Profit is a reward for well-made products and services fairly priced. It’s a reward for treating people like human beings. And the best way to do this is to understand people with money and give them a good reason to give you their money.
So how do you find good reasons? Start by caring about people. “People over profits” must be your ends, your means and your everything-in-between. You have to care about people as communities and as individuals. You have to care about their wants, needs, and desires. Businesses should make every effort to tell consumers and employees, “Hey, I care about you and I know that your support is my reward for doing so.”
Business is an opportunity and profit is a privilege.
Don’t equate “fixing mistakes” with “not making mistakes”.
People equate poor service, poor quality, and bad attitudes with not caring. While fixing it or replacing it is good, the fact is, people go in with the very reasonable expectation that it shouldn’t be broke in the first place. People forgive but people with money rarely forget. They remember the bad meal, the button that fell off, the new car that broke down, the overcharge for the under-service. What you sell and how you sell it reflects how you see people. So get it right the first time.
Get your butt off your shoulders.
Got this one from my gramma. It means, don’t act like you’re better than everyone else. Don’t treat customers like you’re doing them a favor just by being in business. Large companies do this a lot. I don’t care how prestigious your brand is. I don’t care what your track record is. People are human beings and you’d better treat them as such every step of the way.
Also, “attitude” is not a unique selling proposition. Bring something to the game besides ego or “style.” Have a better product, a better way of delivering it, or something tangible that people want or need. If you don’t you’ll go broke the second the attitude wears off.
I’ve read the Constitution front to back; I’ve studied the Declaration of Independence from preamble thru John Hancock’s signature. And you know what? “The right to make a profit” isn’t in there. It’s not in the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s not in the Star Spangled Banner. Thou shalt make a profit isn’t one of the Ten Commandments. It’s not even on the dollar bill. But too many corporations act like making a profit is some sort of inalienable right guaranteed to every “inc.” But they’re wrong. Profit is not a civil right.
No business is owed success. Nobody owes you a Fortune 500 slot. Nobody owes you consecutive quarters of growth. Profit is a privilege that you earn. Profit is a reward for well-made products and services fairly priced. It’s a reward for treating people like human beings. And the best way to do this is to understand people with money and give them a good reason to give you their money.
So how do you find good reasons? Start by caring about people. “People over profits” must be your ends, your means and your everything-in-between. You have to care about people as communities and as individuals. You have to care about their wants, needs, and desires. Businesses should make every effort to tell consumers and employees, “Hey, I care about you and I know that your support is my reward for doing so.”
Don’t equate “fixing mistakes” with “not making mistakes”.
People equate poor service, poor quality, and bad attitudes with not caring. While fixing it or replacing it is good, the fact is, people go in with the very reasonable expectation that it shouldn’t be broke in the first place. People forgive but people with money rarely forget. They remember the bad meal, the button that fell off, the new car that broke down, the overcharge for the under-service. What you sell and how you sell it reflects how you see people. So get it right the first time.
Get your butt off your shoulders.
Got this one from my gramma. It means, don’t act like you’re better than everyone else. Don’t treat customers like you’re doing them a favor just by being in business. Large companies do this a lot. I don’t care how prestigious your brand is. I don’t care what your track record is. People are human beings and you’d better treat them as such every step of the way.
Also, “attitude” is not a unique selling proposition. Bring something to the game besides ego or “style.” Have a better product, a better way of delivering it, or something tangible that people want or need. If you don’t you’ll go broke the second the attitude wears off.
