The Importance of Small Businesses

There continues to be lots of talk about the economy. It seems to have stalled in a lot of ways. Job growth continues to be stable or sliding backwards. Payroll numbers are stagnant. A huge number of people are still unemployed or under-employed. By under-employed, I mean working at jobs that pay less than what the person made prior to 2008 and/or working at jobs that require fewer skills and/or less education than the worker has. It’s a terrible situation and one very few of us feel we can help change.

But there is something you can do to help the economy and it starts just outside your front door. Somewhere in the past 30 years or so we moved from having vibrant local economies to creating a giant global economy headed up by the huge retailers and businesses we all know and frequent. Instead of going to your locally owned grocer, we all head out to the supermarkets owned by huge corporations – Safeway, Albertsons, Kroger, Walmart. Rather than shop at the local florist, we call TeleFlorist or 1-800-FLOWERS. How many people can name their local pet shop, but know exactly how to get to the PetSmart?

Not to disparage the big stores and businesses, but when you shop there, what economy are you really supporting? It’s likely not your local economy, unless you happen to live in Bensonville and you’re shopping at Walmart or in Pleasanton and you’re buying all of your groceries at Safeway. Even still, large companies buy from the lowest priced source, which is likely not the farm or manufacturer nearby. They’re shipping in produce from places where the cost to grow is cheapest. They buy products from places that can pay their workers pennies and make them work dreadful hours so the cost per item stays incredibly low.

Small, locally owned shops can also fall into those patterns of purchasing, but many are supporting local manufacturers, farms, artists and craftsmen. You don’t have to live somewhere traditionally ‘artsy’ to have great talent and wonderful products available.

When you shop at locally owned places, buy from local artists, have local craftsmen create or fix things for you, you are directly supporting your local economy. The money you spend with them goes to support your neighbors, friends, fellow church members, your family, parents of friends, etc.

There are many other benefits besides. Shopping at your locally owned stores, buying from local artists, artisans, and craftsmen, also builds a community. I often hear people lament about how the sense of community being non-existent today. When you go to locally owned small businesses, you meet and get to know your neighbors if you shop there regularly. I always think of the difference between going to the small coffee shop up the street versus Starbucks. Sometimes you get the same barista at Starbucks, but most of the time there are many employees who shift around their schedules fairly often. At the local shop, you generally are talking directly with the owner when you walk in the door. Even if they have added employees, there are not many, so you get to talk with the same person every time. Getting to know the people who actually live and work in your neighborhood, although it may be as acquaintances for awhile, helps build the communities so many of us miss from childhood.

Customer service is another point I hear so many complaints about and have myself, when dealing with large stores. Employees at large corporate owned stores tend to not feel very invested in the company. They are paid very little and have next to no input into how the store looks, feels or how it is run. This tends to create employees that don’t feel a sense of connection to the company other than a paycheck. Not all employees at big companies are this way and some companies try to empower their people, but by and large, the sense of being part of the success of the store is not there. That impacts how employees treat customers. If they don’t feel connected or only feel like they are putting in time to get a check, there is no incentive to treat customers well.

On the other hand, a small business owner knows that every single customer can make or break their business. Customer is still king for small businesses. I think of customer service experiences I have around my neighborhood. The local pet shop is where I go for just about everything our pets need. The people who work there have been there for at least the three years since I moved here. They know me when I walk in and remember what I bought the last time I was there without having to look up my customer account on the computer. It’s terrific. My local mechanic is very much the same way. He knows me, knows the car and remembers what brand of oil I like to have. He even gives a call when I’m coming up on regular maintenance. I’ve got two coffee shops I go to frequently, one near my office and one near my house. The people who own them remember what I like to have and get it ready when I walk in the door. It’s like going to a friend’s house rather than to a store or business.

While I totally understand needing to go to some of the large discount outlets because of personal finances, you might be pleasantly surprised by the bargains you can find right down the street at a small shop. In the last year, I decided to have an entire month where I only shopped local and avoided the large box stores. I was surprised when I found I actually saved money on a lot of the things I would usually go to the discount behemoths to buy. When I sat down at the end of that month and calculated out everything including gas and mileage on my car, I came out ahead shopping at the mom & pop places near me rather than going out to Walmart, Target, etc. The best part, I got to meet some really cool people who actually live near me and had the chance to support them while getting things I need.

When you’re out shopping for gifts this holiday season, remember your local, small businesses. You’re likely to find that great, one of a kind gift and spur your local economy at the same time. You might even make a new friend by supporting your neighbor who owns the store down the street.

 

What Matters

I just got an email from a good friend and colleague. Reading it, it hit me what really matters to me is knowing I have helped in some way. It was a quick update of what had been going on for the past couple of years. Funny how time slips by without noticing how much has passed. But the part that caught me was the thanks for helping with advice when he was going through a bit of a tough spot with work. I didn’t realize being there and talking with him for those few months helped. It was certainly nice to know and I’m really glad he sent me the note.

So what does matter? To me, what makes anything worth doing, is knowing that I’ve helped someone else. That could be as simple as making someone else’s life a little easier. It is always without doing harm along the way. People matter. Things, while they may have sentimental importance, do not. Things can always be replaced. People cannot.

How does that translate into what you do day to day?

For me, keeping helping people at the forefront of my intentions, makes every decision easier. Two questions I always ask myself are:  How will it help? Are there any negative impacts to it?

In the end, it is people and what you do to help the people in your life that make a difference.

How pleasant would life be if everyone behaved as though what really mattered were people and not things or imagined constructs of power and control?

Be good to each other. We’re all in this together.

Creating a Great Experience

Customer service is a term that is used frequently, but many times without really considering what it could be. Some people seem to understand intrinsically. Some companies do a great job with it. In my mind, customer service boils down to creating a great experience for every customer or client.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see both sides of the coin. I traveled down to a tiny town in the central valley of California. My hotel reservations weren’t right when I got there – only reserved for one night instead of the whole weekend and for a much too small room. Although the hotel was completely booked, the desk clerk did everything he possibly could to make it right for me. He even passed on the information to the next shift to ensure everything was taken care of. The staff was absolutely wonderful. I really can’t say enough about them. If you ever need a place to stay that far outshines the star rating given to them by the travel industry, go to Holiday Inn Express.

On the flip side, a business I went to while I was there was quite different. It was almost as though I was a complete imposition on the staff, an entire group of people with the personality of Basil Fawlty, of Fawlty Towers, the beleaguered character portrayed by John Cleese in the 1970s BBC television series. He made no bones about how interrupted he felt by his guests and customers. How Fawlty’s guests felt when dealing with him is exactly how I felt with this business, like I wasn’t wanted and was definitely bothering them.

Fawlty serving guests

How do you create a great experience for your customers or clients? Personally, I find the easiest way is to follow the Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated.

Really a straightforward approach, but sometimes difficult to do. It can be hard to check your attitude at the door when you’re having a bad day. Think about how you like to be talked to, what things you like to have done for you when you are working with someone. Try to create that same experience for everyone you help or do work for. I can’t think of too many people who like to have someone be condescending or curt with them. Or anyone who likes it when the person they are talking with won’t look at them or seems to be consumed by their smart phone, Blackberry, tablet or laptop. Really I can’t think of a soul who doesn’t feel somewhat slighted when they are in a conversation and the other person answers their phone or is texting someone else continuously. Some people still consider it just good manners, but so many people seem to have missed the memo.

The other thing to keep in mind when treating other people the way you would want to be treated is to think about a similar situation you have been in on the opposite side and how you would have liked it to have gone. Say you were returning an item that didn’t work out for whatever reason. Was the clerk abrupt and rude about the return or were they helpful and non-argumentative? For returning items, I can’t think of a better example of terrific customer service than Costco. The few times I have needed to take something back there, it has been a seamless experience. Walk up to the customer service desk and explain that I want to return an item. The employee will ask a few questions to determine whether the item needs to be returned to the manufacturer or not and if I want to exchange it or have a refund. Easy as that.

If you own a company or store, you might also consider the blueprint of the best customer service examples around are the companies that are known for treating their employees very well. Two that come to the top of my mind are Costco and Starbucks. While managers at individual stores may not follow corporate policy exactly as it is written, by and large, the companies try to do the right thing by their people. If you treat your employees well – fair pay, benefits and courtesy – they will treat your customers well. It is virtually impossible to create a great customer experience if your employees’ experience is not great.

Many argue that paying a fair wage and having great benefits will kill the company’s bottom line. You hear it in the news every day. Companies like Papa Johns, McDonalds, UPS, Boeing, Walmart and many others cutting hours and benefits to supposedly improve their bottom lines.

Costco especially has proved that to be a fallacy. Their people are paid some of the best wages in the retail business and their benefits are second to none, yet their revenues and profits continue to grow even in the recession. Aside from their buyers’ savvy in negotiating great deals that allows Costco to bring great prices to their customers, their “Secret Sauce” is the way they treat their employees. By treating their employees well, turnover is reduced, which in turn reduces the cost of recruiting, hiring and training new people. Treating their employees well also increases customer satisfaction because the employees know the company, know the stores, know the merchandise and can therefore recommend items without hesitation, and are happy with the company, which they then impart to the customer by how they treat the customer and their attitude while at work.

So really, the bottom line on creating a great experience for your customers and clients is all about how you treat people. How you treat your employees spills over to the customer. If you treat everyone you meet the same way you would want to be treated (unless of course you are a masochist and then as long as that is your clientele, you’re still on solid footing), you will create great customer experiences.

Be good to each other. We’re all in this together.

Setting Boundaries

Talk with virtually any counselor, therapist or life coach and they will all tell you one of the most important things to be able to stay mentally sharp and balanced is to set boundaries. Sounds fair enough. What does that mean for every day living and doing business?

I think most of us grow up with the idea that you have to give 110% to get anywhere in life. Though I was never quite sure where that extra 10% was supposed to come from. One hundred percent is all that you have. So, we give more than 8 hours of work for 8 hours of pay. We stay late and come in early. Nose to the grindstone. Look to the executives in most companies and they are at the office 10 hours or more per day and then are on call the balance of the 24 hours from midnight to midnight every day of the week.

Most people don’t even take real vacations. Their Blackberry or iPhone goes with them and is connected to office email consistently. A laptop is usually just a reach away or safely waiting for them at their hotel when they return in the evening so they can log on and not miss a single event at the office. Even when colleagues state right at the beginning of a communication that it can wait until the recipient is back in the office, the person on ‘vacation’ calls or emails in to make sure they have taken care of whatever came up.

How many people does this describe that you know? For me, virtually everyone. Even a terrific general contractor I know well has a hard time disconnecting when he goes on vacation. A few years ago he was traveling the South Pacific. Every evening he would find a way to call back and make sure everything was okay that nothing needed his attention while he was out where cell phone towers don’t cover. All of his projects were completed before he left and a super team and manager were there to cover any requests that came up, yet he couldn’t help but stay in constant contact.

My first lesson in setting boundaries was when I was a young military officer. I hadn’t taken any leave for nearly a year because I felt committed and responsible to my men. My first sergeant was a wonderful and wise man. Thankfully, he didn’t let rank get in the way of giving me good advice. After talking with me about why I hadn’t scheduled leave while we had some down time and me explaining how I couldn’t leave the guys in a lurch, he left the room. A few minutes later he came back with a bowl of water and told me to put my hand in. If I could pull it back out and leave a dent, I was indispensable. Otherwise, they could get on without me for a week. It was a funny way of pointing out that they had done everything they needed to do without me before I was assigned and would continue after my term was over. He then sat me down and explained that no one was any good to the unit if they didn’t take care of themselves first.

After the military, we were expecting our first child. I remember the doctor and nurse explaining the same thing. Take care of yourself first or you soon have no personal reserves left to take care of anyone else. At the very least, you end up very depleted and not as sharp or focused as you can be and end up making mistakes.

Like the pre-flight talk when traveling on a plane. “If you are traveling with small children, secure your own mask first. Then help the child.” In the event there were an emergency that required oxygen masks, if you wait to get someone else’s mask on and they are struggling with you, chances are you will run out of oxygen before you can help either one of you. And people do struggle when faced with dire circumstances, even when you are trying to help them. Just ask anyone who has worked as a lifeguard and attempted a water rescue.

So what does any of that have to do with setting boundaries? Everything. It may not be life threatening to set boundaries that are mentally healthy for you. But it will help you stay sharp, alert and on your game.

Setting boundaries can be as straightforward as knowing what schedule works best for you. Are you more productive in the morning or afternoon or is your best work is done at night? Then create a work environment that conforms to your personal productivity schedule.

Setting boundaries can also be knowing which projects to accept and which to reject – including knowing when someone who is a stakeholder on the project is a difficult person you would rather not work with and avoiding taking those projects. Sometimes this can be challenging, especially if you work for someone else or a large company. A tactful way to avoid projects that aren’t best suited to your skills or who have people who are difficult to work with, is to recommend someone better skilled or with a better rapport with the person you find difficult. I have tended to phrase it that the project will have a much better outcome if so-and-so was assigned, since that is their area of expertise or they are so much better at that particular thing than I am. I have found managers and clients alike respect you immensely for pointing them in the direction of better results.

Setting boundaries is also knowing when to end a conversation or even a relationship. Through the years, people have told me alternately that I am strong and harsh, depending on their perspective in the situation. In conversations, I do not to take any slights or condescension. As soon as that starts, I end the conversation. Depending on the situation, it can be as simple as, “I am late for another meeting,” to as abrupt as picking up my things and walking away.

For me, relationships are no different. I lay out parameters of acceptable behaviour and treatment at the beginning. There are always levels of unacceptable behaviour. Some antics require gentle reminders that I had said it was not okay at the beginning of the relationship and I hold to a three strikes and you’re out policy. Other things I consider egregious behaviour and will not tolerate at all. An example is in personal relationships. I have a very strict rule that no one puts my children at risk, ever. Any violation of that rule and the relationship is ended immediately; if it is bad enough, the authorities are called. No exceptions.

When the end of the workday, a weekend, holiday or a vacation comes along, leave your work at work. Shut off your cell phone. Turn off your computer or tablet. Close your appointment book. Structure your workday to include hard and fast times for lunch and breaks and take them – without your mobile phone or laptop. Leave your desk and if possible, leave the building. Take your time back. This is important to have time to recharge, to center, to regroup. Think of how many times you come up with the solution to a problem you’ve been working on when you walk away from it. This is why boundaries are important. Give your mind the time and space it needs to work properly.

Laying out the rules or boundaries ahead of time and sticking to them eliminates a lot of stress and drama. You run the risk of being considered rude, hardhearted or insensitive by people who don’t want to respect your boundaries. But if they don’t respect you enough to respect your boundaries, are they people you want to have in your life? I would highly recommend not.

While it is hard at first, you will be happier, more productive and more relaxed by learning to set and enforce boundaries in all areas of your life.

Storytelling – Old Skill, New Buzzword

A few articles this year have caught my eye – from LinkedIn, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine to FastCompany and a series of TED talks. It’s always intriguing what the “new” thing is. A quick Google search lets you know for certain, it seems the new buzzword for MBAs is storytelling.

Storytelling has been around longer than there has been written language. It is how the history of humanity was told and remembered long before there were clay tablets, papyrus used as paper or the Gutenberg press. And for eons before the dawn of the World Wide Web, HTML and YouTube.

In business, it’s nothing new either. To get your message across, to get people excited about you, your company, your product or working for you, you need to tell the story. Whether you are interviewing for a position or pitching your idea to a group of investors, you need to tell stories. Not fantastical, could never happen stories, but the stories of you, your ideas, your plans, your dreams and goals.

It has always been this way. The better you can convey what your past is and how you paint your future, the better chance you have of getting what you are after. If you can do that in a straightforward, engaging and honest way, the world is your oyster.

Storytelling is how we connect to each other. A good friend of mine passed away this last week. He was one of the best storytellers I knew. He remembered details of how each of us met, fun things we did and poignant moments in all of our lives. He could tell stories like no other, bringing history back to life over a burger and beer or online chat.

Think of when you meet someone new. You don’t feel you know each other at all until past stories have been told and new stories are created together. Friendships deepen with the retelling of those shared stories.

Why would it be any different in business? All business transactions boil down to the interactions of people. Think of the last time you bought something expensive, appliances, car or house. Did you buy from the jerk sales person or did you buy from someone you could talk to and connect with? When you are looking for a job, all else being equal, do you want to work at the place where many of the people don’t seem to get along or the place where people are friendly and seem to like each other? What about when you hire someone, do you go with the guy who can’t seem to connect with other people or the one who can share their experience easily? Most people go with the guy or gal who can connect. And connecting goes back to storytelling.

You don’t have to kiss the Blarney Stone to be blessed with the gift of storytelling. It is a skill, like any other, that can be built and improved on with practice. There are groups all over that help build the muscles of storytellers – from local guilds to community college courses and online “how to” articles and videos. I recommend getting to them in person.

There is nothing quite like being able to tell a story in front of real people. Though terrifying for most at first, it is what will build your confidence and skills faster than any other practice at storytelling. For many who like a more structured approach, Toastmasters is a great way to go. Many companies have chapters and some even subsidize your membership fees. Telling your story in person is one of the most powerful things you can do.

You can exercise your storytelling abilities through writing also. To get in the habit of building great stories, I recommend creative writing. Being able to paint a picture with words is what you are after. Creative writing allows you more latitude when doing that than non-fiction or technical writing. If you search on ‘creative writing’, you will find thousands of sites with tips for written storytelling.

For business, your storytelling needs to be much more concise. A colleague in New York always refers to the quality as crisp – well chosen, few words to paint the picture you want everyone to see. It is being a poet or songwriter rather than a novelist.

Think of the classic elevator pitch – that mythical scenario of stepping into an elevator with Bill Gates or Warren Buffett and you have from the time you get on the elevator with them until the elevator stops to tell them your story. Generally, you want to keep your story in this scenario to the length of a television commercial – 30 seconds on the short side to the two minute Super Bowl version. What picture can you paint in 30 seconds of you, your company or your newest product? What about one minute? Or two? Think you can’t? Take a few minutes and watch some advertisements that have run on Super Bowl Sunday. These demonstrate how a story can be told in a short amount of time.

How about a business pitch, a la Shark Tank. Still short for telling a story, but not impossible. Generally you will have three to five minutes in front of investors to get your story told. That is the length of a song on the radio. Songwriters do it, so can you. Think of virtually any song. There is a whole story in just a few minutes. It takes some practice and word craft, but it is completely possible to paint a picture in words that only take a few minutes to say.

What is your story? How do you want it to end? Start practicing how you want your story told and then tell it! Tell it to everyone to get practice and so it can begin to come true. You never know who can help make it happen.

Build a Great Reputation

This weekend I met a terrific couple. Super nice, hard working people trying to establish themselves in a new town. They have taken a step not many entrepreneurs and business people tend to ignore when building a brand. Bartering and treating each job as if they were doing it for themselves.

If you are building a company or service and are relatively unknown in your area, bartering is a great way to build up a base of people who can be local references for you. It is also a terrific way to build your negotiation skills.

When I was first starting out in consulting, I used bartering as a way to break down initial objections to my rate when I had no reputation to go on. It also allowed me to exchange my skills with computers for services and things I really needed. There is no way starting out I could afford a graphic designer to put together my company image – logo, stationary, etc. So I approached the best graphic designer in town and offered to exchange care and feeding of her computers for what I needed. After a bit of negotiation, we found a great trade. I was on my way. A super reference and professional company image for a some computer expertise.

The best part about bartering is building your customer base and reputation. The same people and companies I bartered with in the early days of my first company became long term customers. They were terrific references and were more than willing to spread good things about me and my company.

Another great thing about bartering is learning to negotiate. It always works best if you keep providing equal or better goods or services in exchange for what you are getting. This leaves people with a much better impression than if you are just out to get what you can from them. People like to do business with people who aren’t out to get everything they can.

The other thing this treating each job like it is work you are doing for yourself. You would never do anything halfway when it’s for you. Mostly because you don’t want to have to do it all over again. So why give anything less to a customer? But companies and consultants do exactly that all the time. The do the job just well enough to get paid. A few very unscrupulous ones will do it just poorly enough to continue to get work for the same job over and over again. Not a great way to build a good reputation.

My mentor from years back always told me to under promise and over deliver. In other words, never promise to do anything you are not 100% positive you can. Then make sure you go above and beyond for every job you do. That builds a great reputation. You will have customers for life who then become your evangelists out there in your marketplace.

In the end, it’s all about taking care of each other. If you genuinely come to each project, each job you have with the intention and attitude of service, of making your customer’s life a little easier, of finding ways to make what you do better for everyone you can’t go wrong.

Try to always keep one phrase in mind, “How can I help?” These are the most powerful four words in business because no one says them enough.

Creating a Business That Helps Others & You…

I never lack for business ideas. The struggle is finding the sweet spot where a business idea aligns with what I am good at, what I like to do and what will benefit enough people to make it a viable business.

Arguably, if you are talented at marketing and sales, you can spin any idea into a benefit bonanza that people will beat down the doors to buy. A great example is the cell phone. If you were to ask anyone 30 years ago if they needed to be constantly connected to everyone they know, they would look at you like you had lost your mind. Now, with much marketing ado, most people cannot imagine a world that isn’t connected. It’s gotten to the point where people get upset if there is not an immediate response to a text, email or voice mail.

But that’s not where I would really like to go with a business. I would rather have what I offer be something that will help and the marketing and sales is just to get the word out that it exists and is available for people who need it. Doing this, I will likely never become as wealthy or as well known as Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. But that’s not really where I want to be in life or in business.

For me, I would love to build something that will make enough money to allow me to live comfortably and travel when I want and do the things I love to do. There are a ton of books out there that talk about how to do exactly that. Three that I have found particularly useful and interesting are:

Making a Living Without a Job, revised edition: Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated)

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

Now to sit down and figure out where some of my business ideas cross section with things I like to do and that I’m good at and that will be helpful to a large enough group of people to make it worthwhile. Then I can start looking at ways to create a model that will allow me the freedom to go where I want, when I want.

What would you rather be doing? Is there a way to help people doing that? Would you want to make a living doing what you would rather be doing?

Altruism vs. Business

I finished reading The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau, which is fairly self-explanatory in its title. It’s a book about how to start a business on a shoestring and has great case studies of people who have done it. The focus is on creating freedom for yourself while creating a viable business. One of the overriding themes in the book, is creating a business that benefits others while using what you are interested in and good at. I really love the focus on helping.

It seems like to many people, the goal of business is only to make money and not to benefit anyone other than the company, its board and stockholders. Arguably it has been that way for so many years most of us can’t recall a time when it hasn’t. Otherwise there would have been no need for laws like the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. For all intents and purposes, those three laws try to enforce honesty within publicly traded companies.

Are altruism and business really at odds with each other? I really don’t think so, unless your only goal is to build a huge money-making enterprise quickly consequences to others be damned. Arguably, even really large companies can have a focus on helping people by creating products that make their lives easier or more fun. While this doesn’t really equate to being altruistic, it is a little further down the path than companies just in the business of making money.

There is a group I really respect, Homeboy Industries, in Los Angeles, California. Their mission is to serve high-risk, formerly gang-involved men and women with free services and programs, and has seven social enterprises that serve as job-training sites. For 25 years, they have helped people and while a non-profit, they are earn some of their operating expenses through the companies they have created.

That is one end of the spectrum of being completely altruistic. I admire what Father Greg has created and accomplished with Homeboy Industries. Although it is one avenue, I don’t think you need to create a non-profit to build a business that helps others.

Some of the examples Chris Guillebeau has in his book are businesses that help people escape to a different life while on vacation to a ranch in California, offering services that then free up time for customers or recording memories of special times. Changing the impetus of the company you are creating to how you can assist others is a powerful shift.

For me, that one change in perspective creates an environment that is much more enjoyable and possibly much healthier mentally and spiritually for the business person. Imagine starting your day with thoughts of how you can help. How much happier would you be? How much better customer service would you bring to every interaction you have?

Even if you aren’t building or running your own business, how would a shift in perspective to one of helping impact your day to day life? Are you happiest when you are making a positive impact on others or when you are amassing money and status without thought to how it impacts anyone else? That is a question only you can answer. I am definitely happiest when I am helping other people. If I can earn a living while doing that, even better!

Passion or Obsession

I follow the Dalai Lama on Twitter and Facebook. That looks really weird written down, by the way. I sound like a stalker. But I really love seeing his insights and thoughts throughout the day. It helps keep me centered. This morning, he tweeted about letting go of attachment. Very timely for what I am dealing with at a client right now.

So I mentioned the tweet to my client contact. She is a spiritually seeking person, so I knew she would appreciate the sentiment of his tweet. We had a short discussion about how you can let go of attachment and still be passionate about something. For her, passion includes attachment to what you are passionate about. To me, that is something more than passion, more along the lines of obsession or at least an unrealistic idea of what you can do for the object of your love and admiration.

What is passion for you? Is it something you can love and appreciate without attachment? Or is it something that you are tied to the idea or outcome that you desire for the thing you love?

I am passionate about many things in my life. Four are my children. I want the best for them always and will do everything I can to help them on their way. There are ways I can show my passion for them – cooking a great meal, helping with advice (only when they ask), reading them bedtime stories when they were small. But I cannot define success for them, that is up to them. I cannot make them happy, because that is their perception of the world. Truly, I can love and appreciate them and the amazing young adults they are, but nothing more. To hang on to them and maintain attachment beyond love and appreciation, will only impair their ability to do what they want to strive for and are capable of in life.

I am passionate about the ocean. I love it and appreciate it for all of its strength, power, beauty and wonder. But holding any kind of personal attachment to it, is folly. There is nothing I can do to change how it is or how it behaves. Again, I can help in small ways, being part of beach cleanups, sponsoring petitions that strengthen antipollution and fishery regulations and working with conservation groups. Those actions help the ocean, but does not impact what the ocean does. So while I want the best for it and will do what I can to help, having an attachment to the ocean doesn’t do anything. It can create stress and frustration for me, but doesn’t do anything to help.

For many years I have put attachment in a high position of importance to things I am passionate about, for example businesses I have built and worked with. The funny thing with business is, it is very much like anything else. You might have created it. You have likely done all you can to help it on its way, to guide and shape it. But in the end businesses take on a momentum all their own, either momentum of growth or the momentum of a downward slide that cannot be stopped. Attachment to or obsession over that business will lead to stress and worry either way, but have virtually no impact on the outcome.

Letting go of attachments, obsessions, is a hard thing to do, especially when it coincides with something you are passionate about. It is something I have to focus on daily and remind myself to let go constantly. But when you let go, is when what you are passionate about can soar. It may not, but that will likely be exactly where it was meant to be.

Attachments and obsessions are imagined control. Being able to let go is handing over a huge amount of trust to the universe, god, or whatever you name the energy beyond your ego. It takes knowing or at least accepting that it will all be okay no matter what the outcome.

After all the only control we really have is in our perception of and response to what goes on in our life. Getting comfortable with that fact can be a lifelong journey. I’ve found that helping where I can is the best way to enjoy the trip.

It all comes down to one thing…

This past week, I encountered the very best example and the very worst example of the one thing that can make or break you in business and arguably in life – customer service. Customer service doesn’t have to be about a financial exchange, it can be how you treat people you encounter every day. Whether it is people who buy from you or people you work with, live with or just talk to occasionally, people are customers of YOU every time you talk with them, do a favor for them or be there for them.

So my two encounters this week. I’ll start with the worst encounter. The worst customer service I remember ever having was in the past week dealing with a service provider. Throughout the encounter with this provider, I felt as though I were being rushed and pushed to make a decision quickly. The person working for this provider was cold and brash, but worse than that, didn’t provide me with enough information about the decision I needed to make. It was an experience that left me feeling empty, remorseful and angry at the provider. When I provided feedback to the customer care department, I received a canned answer instead of one that addressed my concerns. The provider was all about making money (benefit to themselves) and not about helping the customer. End result, I’ll never use that service provider again and will let people know what my experience was with them.

The best customer service I’ve ever experienced was from a used lawn mower shop. I’m talking old-school customer service. I bought a mower from them earlier this year. Last weekend, I noticed the gas line was missing. I figured one of my kids had tangled it in some bushes & it pulled off. So I loaded the mower in the car and headed up to the shop, thinking it would be the best place to find a replacement line. As soon as I started to pull the mower out of the back, one of the guys was right there to help. I didn’t even need to ask. He asked what was wrong with the mower and immediately took it up by the workshop. Ten minutes later, the line was fixed and he checked the oil, spark plug, refilled the gas and loaded it back into my car. I asked how much it would be and I was told no charge, they stand behind every mower they sell. They have one more loyal customer who will spread the word about how great they are.

Both scenarios impact the reputation of the company providing the product or service, one negatively and one positively. It’s easy to see how this applies to business. But how does this translate to life in general? Think about people in your life. If they are helpful and seem to genuinely care about you, you have a positive impression of them. If they only look out for themselves, you likely have a negative impression of them. How do you talk about those people to other friends or family?

So what is the “one thing” that it all comes down to? Being helpful to others. Whether in business or in your personal life, helping each other is what it is all about. It not only builds a positive reputation but overall feels terrific. It’s a much better feeling to end the day knowing you have made a difference than knowing you have taken all you possibly can. Unless of course you’re a sociopath, but that’s another topic all together…

As Red Green says at the end of every show, “Remember, I’m pulling for ya. We’re all in this together!”