How To Create Loyal Customers And Committed Employees
by Miki SaxonLet’s skip all the guru talk and in vogue words and go straight to the crux of the matter.
You want a
- productive, creative, committed workforce; and
- loyal customers.
That pretty much covers it, but buying a bunch of new apps won’t really cut it (as yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday so elegantly pointed out).
Changing how you communicate isn’t quite as simple as throwing software at the problem, but it works better and is a lot cheaper.
Here is a simple way to start.
- Internally, develop a strong sensitivity to people, all people, not just stars and acknowledge that hiring all stars (even if it was possible) won’t guarantee your company’s success.
- Externally, treat all your customers the same as you would your favorite relative.
Steve Harrison, author of The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies.
, says “…decent leaders all have one common trait: humility. Unlike star CEOs who seek the limelight, these low-key leaders are ambitious for their companies, not for themselves. They avoid executive pomposity like the plague. All that stuff about pretentious perks and rank having its privileges – for them, that’s not what leadership is about” and cites Colgate-Palmolive Co. chairman Reuben Mark; Nucor Corp.’s former CEO Kenneth Iverson (who died in 2002); Campbell Soup Co. president and CEO Douglas R. Conant; Southwest Airlines Co. chairman Herbert Kelleher; and Dial Corp.’s former president and CEO, Herbert Baum as executives who get it, but there are many more.
What better, simpler, cheaper approach can you find?
Think about it.
All you have to do is be considerate and respectful of others and practice the kind of manners and politeness that seem to be out of date.
In other words, learn to think them, them, them, instead of me, me, me.
Image credit: Warning Label Generator
