Tag Archives: service

Calamity Jane

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What would you do if you were visiting in another city, fell and broke your front teeth? And what if it happened in the evening and on a weekend? Well of course you would try and find a dentist. Unfortunately though, it’s not that easy.

A friend of ours related the story of her friend who encountered this very calamity. She was carrying a platter of meat at dinner time from the common outdoor grill in the condo where she was staying, tripped on a step and did a face plant. In the process she broke her top teeth and actually pushed one of them back at a 45-degree angle. Needless to say, she was in a lot of pain. A dentist lived in the condo building but wasn’t home, so she began calling dental offices in the city. She made contact with approximately 30 practices – presumably it was answering service in each case. Only one dentist called her back.

He was a young man and told her to meet him at his office at 8:30 that evening. When she arrived he opened the office and proceeded to make the necessary dental repairs. She thanked him profusely and his reply was the clincher. “I only hope that if my wife was ever in another city and had this happen, that someone would help her.” I have no idea whether the other 29 dentists even were notified by their answering services so I’m hesitant to make any judgments here. Suffice it to say that she only needed one dentist to respond, and one did.

This dentist clearly displayed an attitude of service. While it may seem like a rather obvious thing, our perception of medical service providers as compassionate and caring isn’t always accurate. Actually, this can be said about most professions and industries. Too often in too many fields, practitioners are focused less on their customers and more on other objectives. Does this person have insurance? Will this person become a repeat customer? I’m busy. Someone else will handle this. I just finished a 12-hour day and I’m too tired. Get the picture?

At what point do we put the needs of the customer ahead of our own? Do we do this only when it is immediately profitable to do so? A lot of businesses apparently have adopted this philosophy. Or, do we believe in serving every customer, client, patient, etc. as we would want to be served? This is a very uncomplicated subject. We either serve or we don’t. It’s totally our choice. But there is a natural law at work here. For when we do good for others, good comes back to us in greater and greater abundance.

As entrepreneurs, the rewards are enormous for putting the needs of others ahead of our own. When service comes first the profits will be bigger than we ever could expect.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

Dentist

No Scorecard

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Question: What do you think is the lifeblood of entrepreneurship?

Answer: Entrepreneurship is comprised of a great many elements. Creativity, vision, patience, perseverance, capital and integrity are some of the more prominent components. But in my opinion, the lifeblood of entrepreneurship is the building of relationships.

We’ve all heard about how important relationships are but at times I’m not sure that we truly comprehend their vital nature – both as entrepreneurs and as human beings. Early in our business lives many of us are out to “prove something.” We want to make sure that we are perceived as worthy or serious. And at times we may not work as hard to build relationships as we could.

For many years, we had in our family of companies, a commercial real estate leasing and brokerage unit. We leased and sold office buildings, shopping centers, industrial facilities and other commercial properties. The art of building relationships was something we constantly preached and several of our salespeople were receptive to this. Many were not. Those that didn’t buy-in were focused on the transaction. They would make or receive a call to or from someone interested in a property. After some discussion if the prospect wasn’t interested in a property these salespeople would move on to work on another prospect. Other more enlightened salespeople sought to become better acquainted with the prospect, maintained contact and found ways to help that individual even if no transaction was imminent. It was these salespeople who ultimately were able to be the most successful.

Building relationships requires an investment on our part. It is an investment of ourselves in other people. Perhaps that investment takes the form of time, money or emotion. Building relationships does not focus on transactions. Instead it focuses on finding opportunities to genuinely serve others. And we’re not doing so with any expectation of receiving something immediately in return. We serve because it’s the right thing to do. When we do focus on gaining a quid pro quo we often find that the relationship we are trying to establish lacks loyalty – in both directions. Do we hope that the day may come that the person with whom we have a relationship will serve us in some way – i.e. a transaction? Sure, there’s nothing wrong with thinking this, but only because it’s the way the world works.

We can be most successful when we build relationships with others where there is no scorecard. When we have this mindset the game will be won by both parties.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

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The Legacy

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Question: I work hard every day and have achieved success along the way. But sometimes I wonder if this is all there is. Why am I not completely satisfied?

Answer: Some entrepreneurs are wired a bit differently than other members of society. We always want more. More success; more out of life; more challenges – the next mountain to climb. There are those who might describe us as restless. This is actually what drives us to excel. But as the years go by and we continue to succeed; live life more fully; overcome the challenges and climb the next mountain, we become less energized by playing the “game.”

What more is there? At the end of the day are we just flesh and bones? What is our legacy? The whole concept of legacy is important to us as entrepreneurs. It requires a great deal of thought and self-reflection. And it isn’t something that we can know for certain early in our careers. Our perception of legacy evolves over time. But by intentionally seeking our legacy in our 20s, 30s, 40s, etc., it will become a part of who we are and help to shape us as human beings.

I have spent more time as I have gotten older considering my legacy though I wish I’d focused on it more when I was younger. Nevertheless, it has become crystal clear that my legacy is all of the good things I can do for other people. My life has become less about me winning and more about helping others win in their lives. When I am gone, do I want to be remembered as a conquering captain of industry? Or do I want to be remembered as someone who helped make the lives of others more special?

The opportunity to serve others plays perfectly into an entrepreneur’s success mantra. I’ve mentioned before that positive energy draws great good to us. And serving others certainly generates massive amounts of positive energy. I’ve found that the more I give of my time, talent and treasure, the more good things come into my life. The beauty of this equation is that it happens without any calculation whatsoever. For example, I have been part of an entrepreneurial mentoring program for a number of years. The business men and women whom I have been fortunate enough to mentor seem to benefit from my ideas and counsel. But I too have been the beneficiary in many ways. Besides establishing some amazing friendships, the time I spend with them has resulted in stimulating new ideas that I can implement in my own businesses.

It took a while for me to realize that a legacy of materiality was much less important to me than a legacy of hundreds or even thousands of other people whose lives were improved as a result of something I was able to do for them. And guess what? Material abundance has become even greater for me with this realization! It’s yet another manifestation of the Law of Attraction.

What will your legacy be? Give this question some deep thought and challenge yourself to explore the multitude of options. Whatever you decide will be right for you.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

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It’s An Art

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Question: I am beginning to attend more social and business functions. I’m not sure exactly how to make the most of such events. Some people seem so natural at being in groups. What advice do you have for me?

Answer: Working a room is an art. Certain unique individuals walk into a room and suck all the air out of it. They have big personalities and people naturally gravitate to them. For most of us we have to expend more effort to get the results we want. Which brings us to the question of just exactly what do we want to gain from personal encounters in group settings? For me it’s about the fact that I enjoy meeting and being around other people. And it’s about collecting as many relationships as possible over the course of my life . . . relationships that I can serve in some way.

I have developed a very specific approach to working a room. I make sure that I have a good supply of business cards in my coat pocket. I generally stop at the bar for a glass of water (I’d rather not drink alcohol at these functions) and then I’m ready to launch. If I see someone I know, I’ll make a beeline to him or her and strike up a conversation. Usually this will result in the person I know introducing me to someone else whom I haven’t previously met. Ultimately, I try to meet everyone in the room depending of course upon the size of the gathering. I tend to make the first move – look the person in the eye, shake their hand firmly and give them my name. I get their name in return and then I usually ask a question of some sort. It may be about the event, the host or something I’ve observed about the person. The conversation usually comes easy after that.

My purpose for meeting people is not to see what they can do for me. It’s the other way around. I live my life knowing that when I help others, good things will come back to me in ways I can’t imagine. So, I’m not “targeting” people to meet in order to position myself to eventually “sell” them something. Over the years I’ve met some of the most fascinating people on the planet. I’ve figured out ways to help them, and my life – both business and personally – has been richly blessed as a result.

The key to success with social or business group situations is to have a well-defined purpose. If we show sincere and genuine interest in other people; are there to talk about them; listen to them; and find ways to help them, we’ll be rewarded beyond our wildest dreams.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

I’m Stuck!

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Question: I feel stuck right now. It seems as though I’m on a treadmill and going nowhere. The frustration seems overwhelming. Advice?

Answer: This often is a common feeling for everyone. For entrepreneurs the frustration can seem especially acute. We tend to be Type A personalities who want things to happen . . . and right now! Sometimes this frustration can actually block the positive flow of energy on which we thrive. And then it becomes a vicious cycle – the more the energy doesn’t flow, the more we feel like we’re going to burst with frustration.  

Let me provide a flying analogy. I’ll never forget the sage advice of my flight instructor years ago when I was taking pilot training. He told me that when things go haywire the first thing to do is to simply, “fly the airplane.” Don’t worry about anything else – just keep the wings level and fly the airplane. That’s my advice here. When this frustration wells up don’t lose your head – just remember to relax. Spend some time finding a calm moment – visualize putting your frustration on the shelf – after all, it’s not going anywhere without you. 

Next, it’s important to get out of yourself. What does this mean? Entrepreneurs have the tendency to dwell on whatever issues may be causing the frustration they are feeling. Once we relax we need to understand that there are other things more important in life than we are. This is a humbling realization. Consider being of service to others in some way. Volunteer at a food pantry. Be a Big Brother or a Big Sister. Teach a Sunday school class. Some time ago when I was dealing with a lot of frustration, I volunteered at a local children’s hospital. I had a ball reading stories and playing games with sick children. Being of service helps us to channel positive energy to the benefit of others. And guess what? All of a sudden the frustration melts away and the positive energy flows again!

I can’t promise that relaxing, getting out of yourself and being of service to others will solve all of the problems that led to your frustration. But getting rid of the feeling of being stuck will help you see more clearly the way to fix what needs fixing.