If you could do one thing better tomorrow than you do today, what would that be? What are you focusing on improving for your business in 2020? I would like to share some of my own thoughts to start your gears turning as to how you will make the year 2020 better than the last:
Listen to understand, not to respond. Are you too quick to respond or defend that you fail to receive the value one may be “gifting” you in the form of constructive criticism? As John Maxwell states, “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.” Although it can often be difficult to hear, listening to customer feedback allows you the opportunity to measure customer satisfaction and often gives you actionable insight to improving your overall customer experience.
Work on your business instead of in your business. I was once told, “moving your business ahead, always requires you to take a step back.” Small business owners are the biggest culprits – you work tirelessly as the CEO, COO, CFO, CMO,…..COEUTS (Chief of Everything Under the Sun)….either because you don’t feel like you can afford hire someone to fill these voids or truthfully, you don’t trust anyone else with those tasks, and you neglect the most important task — running your business. I challenge you to delegate and move back into the drivers seats. Look ahead, plan, and place your focus on developing your team and growing your business.
Grow your “net(work)” worth: Help, don’t hustle. I challenge you to “build your village”. Write down the job titles of every profession you can think of that makes up a “village”, placing specific focus on any potential referral partners (Residential Realtor, Commercial Banker, Mortgage Lender, Insurance Agent…etc). Once you’ve completed your list, use LinkedIn or your own existing “black book” of contacts and fill in a name that represents each title. Make effort to make personal contact with each individual on your list with the single objective of….here’s the catch…. ask how you can make THEM more successful….and follow-through! The bottom line? If you place your focus on being a “helper” as opposed to being a “hustler”, mark my words, the more you give, the more you will receive in return.
Be a Rookie. Always be an enthusiastic, fearless, humble and undaunted learner; take risks, and don’t be afraid to fail. Essentially, be a rookie. It is within this realm of being outside of the safety of things you do well which yields inspiration, innovation and the ability to receive the true joy that only comes from hurling ourselves into new challenges and embracing the role of being a rookie.
Offer yourself as value. You have experience and knowledge that is invaluable and could give a hand up to someone else. Be someone’s mentor, further the mission of a local non-profit by serving as a member of their Board of Directors, volunteer for a community development task force/committee, or offer yourself as a speaker or expert panelist for the young professionals group or within your industry association.
Say Thank You. There’s something special today about a handwritten note. Keep a stack of cards and envelopes on hand and dedicate 3 minutes per card several times a week to offer a word of encouragement or a quick note simply to say “thank you.” Aside from it being the right thing to do, study after study shows tangible return in the form of customer retention and employee productivity as a result of adding value to others by showing them that you value them.
Happy New Year! Allow our team the privilege of serving as a valuable member of your Board of Advisors – consider us your one-stop comprehensive business resource; silent partner and #1 support system.
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