1 – YOUR BUSINESS TIP
Last week I talked about TEAM and how to make the most of your relationships with others so that everybody wins and your relationships build and grow stronger so that they are mutually profitable – whether that’s in terms of money, time, productivity, personal . . . anything.
Today I want to focus on why as a Business Owner it really IS ‘ALL ABOUT YOU’
Having trouble with Team? Not getting the best out of them? Or maybe even your personal relationships are suffering a bit?
Brad Sugars talked about this when we were part of ActionCOACH, the global Business Coaching firm. He shared a great piece of advice in the form of an observation and I’m going to share it with you now.
“You get the people you deserve”.
So if you recruit right – clients, team, your network – you get the people you deserve. If you find yourself surrounded by people you’re not happy with . . . . ‘you get the people you deserve’.
A sobering thought. But it shows it comes back to you – you are responsible. The buck definitely stops with each of us as business owners.
Here’s another idea that I totally buy into (although I can’t remember where I first heard this):
“People treat you how you teach them”
- So if your clients or team call you at all times of the day and night – you’ve taught them that you’re always available.
- If people keep asking you to do things they are perfectly capable of doing – or could be taught to do . . . guess who created that scenario?
- If people consistently pay you late, or don’t follow up with you when they said they would . . . what have you taught them?
Another silly – but enlightening – example:
I remember my neighbours’ kids being at my house for a party years ago and the kids all had this habit of pulling at your clothes and calling ‘Mary, Mary, Mary!!!’ to get attention. All the kids did it.
They did it with everyone. You probably know kids like that. You might even have them. Or you might have been one.
It drove me mad and taught me a great lesson.
Solution:
All of the above scenarios happen because you/we/I haven’t communicated the ‘rules of the game’. We haven’t explained what to do or how to do it. I see it everywhere.
So – I ‘got’ the learning and made a few simple changes and started to communicate better. I’ll give you a couple of examples but I highly recommend you note down your own.
- I smiled and told the kids that if I was busy talking to someone else (grown up or child) then they should let me know they want me (‘one Mary will do’) and I’ll acknowledge them and when I’ve finished my conversation – I’m all theirs. Unless it’s an emergency of course!
But it never was an emergency – is was simple ‘learned behaviour’. And as if by magic – they all joined in and felt very proud of themselves (yes, there was a lot of praise for them doing it right and they positively preened) AND got the time and attention they wanted. Without mayhem ensuing. - I won a training contract years ago and beat off some BIG competition. Why did I win as a one-man band at the time? Because I told the panel that I knew they were typically late paying and explained how that would impact on me paying the team who would deliver to/for them. I suggested they pay me a month in advance to avoid any ‘delivery’ team not being paid on time and they agreed a payment date each month.
No-one else did that and they went with me because I’d explained simply and clearly how it would work in their best interests. And it went smoothly. - When we take on a client we explain how it will work – our ‘rules of the game’ so they know how best to work with us – so we can focus on the work we are doing for/with them. And we find out THEIR ‘rules of the game’ too.
It’s not hard but comes down to:
Clarity
Communication
Respect
and I’ll close by sharing our Number One Rule: “open and honest communication”.
That means more than being honest, it means actually sharing the things you normally don’t like to say, ask or mention. And creating a safe space for people to be open is an amazing basis for building strong relationships.
What will YOU take from this today to improve YOUR leadership and YOUR results?
2 – YOUR MARKETING/LINKEDIN TIP
I’ve shared with you the importance of innovating your content.
Today, I bring you another example:
Now, why is this post innovative?
I think it’s pretty obvious, but let me say it anyway:
It’s a fun post and it’s a different way of sharing an idea that has been shared a gazillion times.
What’s the idea?
In this case, Gav (the author) is trying to convince his audience that having a calorie deficit is the key to weight loss.
How many times have you heard that?
1 billion times, I’m sure!
But by inserting that “generic idea” in this format that’s fun to consume, and out of the ordinary, he’s making his content stand out.
And more than that, it’s enabling him to get his message across.
I love this example. I hope you did as well
Solution:
One of our most difficult things when it comes to posting regularly on LinkedIn is coming up with consistent ideas for content and what content works best for your business.
We’ve created a 32-page E-Book full of our collective knowledge on LinkedIn. What works best and what strategies will get you more leads from LinkedIn.
Want a copy? Click here: resources.90dayplanning.co.uk/Content-Secrets