People Power
Business advice seems to take the same form nowadays –
stripped down and covered in a shroud of lists and mystery. There’s no real way to tell if the keys
to managing your company can be narrowed to “5 keys” or a “secret formula” but
there is genius in simplicity.
Removing the complexity of an issue allows us to focus on what’s really
important and helps prioritize. So
in order to provide the best business advice possible with this post, I’ll
attempt to explain how you can build and sustain a successful company with only
one word.
People.
Show me a company that puts people first and I’ll show you a profitable company. Despite technological advances and the fear
that robots will replace all of our jobs, people
are still the heartbeat of any business. A person’s life can be defined by his
or her relationships with other people and how he or she has impacted them. The happiness that you get when you
embrace your spouse or the motivation that you receive after a conversation with
your mother is extremely powerful.
All of these positive emotions can also apply to your professional world
if you understand the value of people.
It doesn’t matter what your company does or sells, focus on people and your bottom line will increase. For example you might be a realtor
that’s showing newlyweds their first home together. You might know the intricate difference between pex and
copper piping, and how granite will improve the value of the property but if
you don’t pay attention to people,
you might miss that the couple’s number one priority is their children. Knowing this, you would instead tell
them about the great schools, low crime and how the backyard is perfect to hold
birthday parties. That subtle fact
can be the difference between making the sale and watching your clients walk
out the door.
Even if your business creates a product that you sell in
store, people still need to come
first. Sure, Apple products are
amazing but they aren’t amazing because of gigabytes and other technical
mumbo-jumbo, they are incredible products because Steve Jobs took the time to
understand the people that buy his
products. He understood that at
the end of the day, people want to be
cool and feel like they are on the cutting edge of the future. A clear understanding of what makes people happy is exactly why you waited
online for that iPhone and bought an iPad even though you know you don’t really
need it.
In a time where corporate profits have become synonymous
with white-collar crime, its more important than ever to value the
relationships that you have with people. So even if you are a CEO that makes 400
times John the factory worker, spending a little time to tell John how much you
appreciate his hard work will go a long way. If John enjoys his job, he will manufacture your product with
better care, which will improve customer satisfaction and improve sales. The quicker that you realize that people equal profits, the quicker your
business will be on the right track.
Ignore this fact and you can still make a lot of money, but you’re
taking a big risk if you choose to create wealth at other people’s expense.
[C] Bernie Madoff; Enron; Mortgage brokers circa 2008
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