Tag Archive - relationships

Community Leadership – What’s Next for 2011?

February 24, 2011 in Leadership with 56 Comments

community leadership Community Leadership Whats Next for 2011?Have you ever been asked to help with a great cause to share and make a difference within your community?

A couple of months ago, I was approached by Shawn Murphy of Achieved Strategies to see if I wanted to contribute a guest blog post. It was for a blog series titled “Revive and Thrive” and its focus was for this new year of 2011. Of course I was willing to participate and help add value to the cause. Being able to contribute alongside the many great members within the leadership community was a great privilege. Continue Reading…

Time and Trust

May 31, 2010 in Business, Leadership with 8 Comments

time and trust 300x199 Time and TrustRelationships are built on two things: time and trust. This formula applies in both our personal lives and business lives. Granted, the time factor can be a hindrance but in business we may meet people daily whom we may never again see in person. We want to keep doing business with them and achieve a lasting trust. While first impressions are critical, what is more important is that we build on those moments, and use that effective first meeting to create truly strong bonds: an enduring trust.

Each action that we perform in a relationship will either build it up or break it down. We need to be mindful of everything we do. If it’s said that we’re going to deliver something on deadline, we need to make sure to deliver it If we cannot make that deadline, it’s important to keep our client informed every step of the way. Follow though on every promise.

The more we show that we’re willing to invest in a relationship, the more meaningful it will become. Trust is built over the long haul, and our actions over time show volumes about our character and motivations. A one time effort to close a deal, get a sale or the client, even if it is dramatic and puts a big feather in our cap, it’s not enough. Enduring trust in a relationship can’t be faked and it’s rarely produced by a dramatic, one time effort. Build trust, keep it and nurture it.

Building Relationships

October 18, 2009 in Leadership with 8 Comments

puzzle people 300x199 Building RelationshipsHumans…all people in general are relationship oriented. We build relationships based on trust and personal contact, and we live and die on the strength of relationships. That this is the case serves as a convincing argument for telling the occasional white social lie…and against telling any other kind of lie. Here are a few examples I feel I have gathered to support this theory:

“Boy, this is a really nice office. I sure wish I worked in a place like this.” (The truth of the matter is the office we work in easily prevails the other person’s.)

No big deal. Some of us find it easier to make contact with somebody by finding something like this to mention as an ice breaker. What’s the problem if there is a slight exaggeration on a point like this? Even if the person should somehow learn the terrible truth that you work in a spectacular office, is there any real downside to such a statement made tactfully, and without any overbearing flourishes? No.

“And about the completion time you are requesting. I don’t see any reason why we should have any problems meeting that, though I will have to clear it with the programmers and technicians after we square away the paperwork here today.” (Actually, I know in full that I will miss the requested completion date by a week or two no matter who or what I say to the other professionals that are involved.)

Red light!! We are attempting to build a new relationship with a potential client by deliberately misrepresenting out ability to solve their problem to his or hers satisfaction. When things go awry later on…and nine out of ten times in a situation like this…the prospect is not going to remember the cute little disclaimer we slid in there about running things by the others involved. He or she is going to remember that you said that you could deliver the product on the specified date, and the “blankety blank blank” thing didn’t make it into the warehouse until the fifteenth. At this stage, we will no longer be identified as a “problem solver”. We will be looked at as a problem: a professional that promises more than can be delivered. This is not the stuff that builds lasting relationships.