Shorten Your Learning Curve

If I have learned one thing in business, it is “WHY” experience the pain to learn something when you don’t have to; the more knowledge you can gain from others, the better for you. Go to school on other people’s experiences. Learn from their wise words or from their mistakes and shorten your learning curve. I heard it once said: “He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another’s mishap.”

Nothing Happens Until You Decide

“DECIDE” is an enormously powerful word. How powerful is it? You are one decision away from an entirely new life. I would say that is extremely powerful. Every accomplishment starts with a decision, so nothing happens until you “DECIDE” to make it happen. We also need to understand that decisions can be hard to make because sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same thing.

Welcome Criticism

Welcome criticism? Those are two words that are hard to swallow. Don't you just hate criticism? I mean, think about it. It doesn't make you feel good. You tend to question the agenda of the person giving it; is their intention to help them look better in the eyes of others at your expense? Pure and simple, criticism is a painful experience. So why should we welcome it?

Corporate Survival

The problem with most companies today is their employees see the people walking into their place of business or ordering on-line as JUST ANOTHER CUSTOMER. Companies forget how excited they were the day they had their first customer. After years of success, customers are taken for granted. Most of the people working for them weren’t around when they had their first customer. Most employees don’t really give much thought to the fact that customers pay their salaries along with paying for everything else.

One Word You Need to Ensure Your Success

In between the business methodologies of Total Quality Management to Business Process Reengineering (BPR), from Six Sigma to Lean Sigma, don't lose sight of some good “Old Words;” service, trust, respect, loyalty, diligence, fairness, and integrity will serve you well in your career. Those “Old Words” should never be overlooked in our quest for the latest and greatest technological business tool or management book.

See Them as an Invited Guest

Your customers are invited guests to your party and everyone they encounter in your company needs to assume the position of being “their host.” Customer service excellence has always been and will always be the most critical competitive advantage for any business. Your competitor can copy your store, warehouse, or facility design, your product mix and even your pricing … but you can make it where they will never be able to copy your incredible customer service.