There are two crucial principles that separate a world-class business from a business.
They are…….
Attention to people
Attention to people is about making all of the right people (suppliers, clients, patients, team members, strategic alliance partners, competitors) feel that they can trust, respect and like you.
It’s about appreciation, compassion, empathetic listening and, mainly, about ethics.
Equally, it’s about refusing to compromise for the wrong people – the people who don’t care whether they trust, respect or like you – those for whom it’s just about the money.
There are no exceptions to either of these rules – attention to people leads to lifetime friendship and recommendation. Compromise leads to unhappiness and, sometimes, hostility.
Attention to detail
Attention to detail is about doing your best work every time, because for you that’s normal.
It’s about operating standards that are better than compliant.
It’s also about not accepting typos (and, when there are typos, about accepting responsibility, apologising, blaming the system not the person and making positive restitution).
About showing up on time, about saying “please” and “thank you” and about finishing what you start (attribution for that to The Strategic Coach).
Quiz Question #1
Can you think of a business that demonstrates attention to people and attention to detail?
Quiz Question #2
Was the answer “my business”?