In This Edition
1. Build Winning and Lasting Relationships
2. Going The Extra Mile
3. Quotes
4. Recommended Reading
BUILD WINNING AND LASTING RELATIONSHIP
(An excerpt from Chapter 7 of “Success Is Not a Spectator Sport: How to Take Action and Achieve More”)
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help other people. Unsuccessful people are always asking “What’s in it forme” Brian Tracy
Success Depends On Our Relationship Choices
I believe that in business and in life, a great deal of our success is related to the connections we make and the subsequent relationships we build with people. This includes family, friends, business partners and anyone we allow to have an impact on our lives. So many people do not understand the power of relationships. They think success is all about themselves. Oh, how wrong they are! If there is one thing I have learned in my life, both personally and professionally, it is that success is all about relationships.
Those who think that relationships are built overnight are doomed to failure because relationships take time to nurture and build. Others have to like, trust, and respect you before they will consider doing business with you. The expression “People do not care what you know until they know that you care” is a valuable one to remember.
Successful people realize that with every person they meet comes an opportunity to make a connection to the future. Short-sighted people focus on the short-term win. Smart people focus on the long term and on building a win-win relationship; they build relationships for the future, not just for today.
We live in a world where few of us have a product or service that nobody else has. We may think that what we have is the best, but the reality is that our competition thinks the same of their products. We also live in a world where everyone is looking for instant results, quick fixes or miracles; everyone is impatient for results, sales and numbers. Successful individuals are those who look to the long term in the relationships they are building, but focus on the shorter term for the value and results they can deliver to others.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
I would like to share a recent experience I had that speaks to the importance of exceptional customer service. I believe it tells a story of the impact of service and customer loyalty.
Anybody who lives in Canada will know the numerous detailed customs forms one has to fill out in order to send a package over the Canada-US border; any small error, and you will experience incredible delays. Well, my story is of having to get a very important package from my office in Toronto, Canada to Tucson, Arizona quickly. The option I chose was Fed Ex. The Fed Ex office was very busy that morning and I was in a hurry. I filled out the order form, customs forms and paid for service guaranteeing next day delivery. Confidently I left and went back to my office.
Back at my office I went to file my receipt away and noticed I had made an important mistake that would delay my package at the border. In a bit of a panic I phoned up the Fed Ex office where I spoke to a very empathetic customer service representative who promptly put me through to somebody in the shipping dept. This individual was equally concerned about my predicament. He took my tracking number and contact information and said he would get back to me.
Within ten minutes I had a call back from the Fed Ex representative telling me he had found my package and with my permission, he then made the necessary changes on my form.
What impressed me greatly is that they process thousands of packages from their main Toronto base every day, and yet they made it appear that my request was the most important issue they had to deal with. And, they had to manually go through the pile of packages to locate mine. The representative could have told me, “Mr. Marcus, it is impossible to track down your package.” Most organizations would have. It would have been to much bother for them, but Fed Ex did not. Someone took RESPONSIBILITY immediately. My concern was their concern. In other words they cared.
The matter was taken care of immediately, with the minimum amount of fuss, with courteous and emphatic service. The result…a very happy and grateful customer, ready to sing their praises.
This sort of service, at least in my experience, is very, very rare. I, for one, will certainly be doing business with them again. They may not be the cheapest carrier, but my research shows me that most people, including myself, are willing to pay that little extra for a company who cares about their customer’s needs.
So many organizations do not get it. They do not show concern or empathy for their customers and they certainly do not go the extra mile. It is maybe a little thing, but it means everything.
Ask yourself: How am I going that extra mile for my customers/clients today? In fact, going the extra mile does not have to be restricted to your professional life…think of someone who you can make a difference for today in your personal life by going that extra mile.
QUOTES
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is to high and we miss it, but that it is to low and we reach it” Michelangelo
“The road to success is marked with many tempting parking spaces” Executive Speechwriter Newsletter
“Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier” Mother Theresa
RECOMMENDED READING
Your Dreams Are Too Small by Joe Tye
Joe Tye has put together a wonderful book on achieving professional success, financial wealth, and personal fulfillment. This entertaining educational book will show you the path toward visualizing and realizing your most magnificent dreams. The author shows you how to dream big, act big, and achieve big.
The A To Z Guide To Soul-Inspiring Leadership by Carol-Ann Hamilton and James Norrie
This very detailed book on leadership is excellent. Drawing on the authors’ collective experiences, the book gives the reader practical wisdom and specific suggestions for improving results. This how-to book is an invaluable guide for individuals and organizations. It will make a difference for you, your team, your organization and will enhance your leadership results.
Stuff Happens (and then you fix it ! ) by John Alston and Lloyd Thaxton.
This book shares 9 Reality Rules to Steer Your Life Back in the Right Direction. What I really liked about this book is the honesty in it. It is very well written, entertaining and easy to follow, with lots of wonderful stories, quotes and words of wisdom. Stuff, as we know, happens to all of us, some good, and some bad. Read this book, it will put it all in perspective for you.