Integrity, Relationships and Our Customer

This is the foundation for all business. Prosper here and you will succeed.

I want to tell you a story. This took place over twenty two years ago, back when I had hair. It is a conversation I had with a colleague. I honestly do not remember his name, but his words have stuck with me all these years and serve as the foundation for how important relationships in business are. Though I have to confess I have stumbled and fallen many times along the way in this area.

He told me a about a prospective customer that had called wanting a quote on a couple of capnography units. At the time this product was experiencing some major problems. He disclosed the problems we were currently experiencing and then referred the customer to the vendor that was "best in class" for that product. He told me the customer was somewhat stunned by his actions (go figure ;-}).

My colleague then told me, "Eric I have been the sales person of the quarter for five quarters in the past two years. My management always asks me to share my secret and I try to tell them but I do not think they understand. In fact, if they knew what I did with that customer I might very well have been fired".

Two months later he told me the same prospective customer called him and said he wanted him to write up a purchase order for twelve of our portable EKG monitors (We were best in class at the time in that product area). The salesman told the prospective customer he would send him a quote. The customer replied "I do not think you heard me, I want a purchase order, not a quote."

This is a true story, one I have never forgotten, though I have long forgotten the salesman's name.

The message of the story to me is very clear. Integrity, honesty and building relationships with our customers are what matters most in business and in life. I am not talking about some rah-rah statement that every company has. I am talking about walking the talk.

It does not matter where you are in the organization, we all have customers we serve. I would like to expand for you the definition of customer. My manager is my customer. The analyst I take the time to answer a question for is my customer. If you are a developer that lives behind what I like to call the "wizard of oz" curtain your customer is the designer asking for a function point that will help the customer that is paying all of our salaries by buying our products and services.

A customer is anyone we serve in any capacity. Remember and practice this and your life will be rich and meaningful because you will have built many quality relationships. Remember this as a business and while I cannot guarantee your success I can guarantee the health and wealth of your soul.

Think about how you have served your customers. How would you write about this in your LinkedIn profile? What would your customers say about you if you asked them for validation?

For many of us these can be sobering questions I just asked. But hard questions help us all to grow and try to do a better job tomorrow.

Also, remember, if you never fall down then you are not skiing hard enough.

Peace out.

Human Currency

I am not quite sure why this has not been written about more. You and I make up the new currency in the modern world. One need only to look at the success of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to understand the profound truth in this observation.

These enterprises are each worth billions. They offer us, in exchange for our membership, a place to commune and communicate. A place to share ideas. For some a chance at our proverbial "fifteen minutes of fame."

If you ponder this new equation for currency long and hard it really is television in reverse. McLuhan said "The message is the medium." The message used to be all of us with our butts parked in front of the TV in our living rooms. The medium was static and was delivered to us from a one way cathode ray tube. We watched it. Of course we had (and still have the choice) to pick up the remote and surf down the dial.

Today, you and I have become the medium. Instead of watching, we are the ones being watched. Every tweet, every profile update, every post, every search recorded.

Now, I don't mean to be a downer in saying all of this. Truth be told, I am quite engaged and excited about these new mediums. They offer all of us a voice. They allow those of us that have become disconnected by time and space to re-connect. They can even serve populations that are less fortunate than us. Level the playing field if you will.

The ultimate delivery of what we once called web 2.0 really has turned the flow of information from a one way stream that only flowed from a singular static source into a two way street. We, collectively have become the main source of information and data. I can say that I have become a richer person thanks to the web.

Of course we all must also be brutally honest with ourselves and accept that we really do not have a choice to disconnect from the new medium. At least not and remain a viable member of todays society. As such it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the medium never becomes too invasive or oppressive. After all, we collectively represent the new currency.