The answer could change the way you do business.
Columbus, Ohio has been suffering an incredibly hot summer with no rain this year. In fact, the grass around my house was turning brown and dying. So I drove down to Home Depot and purchased a lawn sprinkler so I could water my lawn two hours every night and bring it back to life.
The next day, the neighbor next door purchased a lawn sprinkler. Two days later, the other next door neighbor purchased a lawn sprinkler. I thought this was wonderful because now three of us would have beautiful green lawns. But it didn’t stop there. The neighbor across the street purchased an in-ground sprinkler system which must have cost around $2,000.00.
Although I was happy that the green grass that God made was no longer going without water, I also noticed a common human emotion that applies to business. Let me explain.
The people in my neighborhood were not purchasing lawn sprinklers because they cared about the green grass that God provided for our comfort. I know this is true because I have lived in my home for over 2 years and no one had purchased a lawn sprinkler before. Instead, the neighbors were more concerned about my grass looking greener than theirs because one of the neighbors came and told me about it. This is simple human pride and it will do nothing for you.
Are You a Leader or Follower in Business?
Most people will stand up real proud, stick their chest out and boldly say: “I am a leader.” but are they? You can only find the answer by examining the fruits of their labor. If someone tells you they are a leader, what have they done to prove this characteristic? If you cannot find any verification, it is doubtful the person is NOT a leader and they only lied to you because of their own selfish pride.
But why do people lie? There is nothing wrong in being a follower. Some people are made up that way and there is nothing wrong with it. So why do followers not like to admit they are followers? Because they have a lot of pride and believe that others look at followers as second best – which is totally untrue. Without followers there would be no leaders.
What Happens if You are a Follower?
Let us suppose you are a follower and you admit you are a follower. What kind of business can you operate? Followers make excellent business partners for leaders. Followers enjoy doing the work, but not obtaining the work. So if you put a leader and a follower together, one has what the other lacks and visa versa. If you are follower, my advice is to start looking for a leader so you can learn from or network with them to obtain ideas and follow their advice.
What Happens if You are a Leader?
Just because you are a leader this does not mean that you are all powerful and deserve to have followers bow down and worship you. Instead, leaders need followers to work with them. Don’t believe me? Put two leaders together and within a few minutes you will see the negative effect. It’s the same effect you get if you put two good cooks in the same kitchen. Each one will have a different method of cooking and within a short period of time, they both will find a way to compromise and get along, or they will bicker at each other and create a negative atmosphere which will hinder both.
Summary
Take a moment and analyze yourself. Be honest and decide if you are a leader or a follower. When you determine which personality trait you have, accept it and find compatible personalities to help you build your company.
On a final note, I had a customer email me the other day. He said that he contacted some people in the Nationwide Bankruptcy Directory who said they had not received any work from attorneys. He was curious as to if this business was legitimate. I asked him the names of the people he contacted and he provided them. I immediately recognized the people he contacted. Not one of them was serious about the business and they had done absolutely nothing to market their services.
When I realized the problem, I told the gentleman that he cannot judge a business fairly when he only contacts people who do nothing to build their business. So I provided him with the names and contact information of people who had worked hard and built their virtual bankruptcy service. In this manner, the gentleman had the ability to effectively evaluate the business itself. Remember folks: You must be able to look at both sides of the coin before you can make an intelligent decision. If not, you could end up looking like a fool.
I wish all of you the best of success in building your business with the right people. And I urge you to stop being selfish and lying to yourself. The truth may hurt sometimes, but it always wins at the final finishing line.
Victoria Ring, CEO
713Training.Com
http://www.713training.com
