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People Want To Be Heard
November 3rd, 2011
by Bill Boyajian

I’m mentoring a young man who has taken over the reins of running a small, closely held family business. The other day he asked how to deal with a somewhat difficult person under his wing.

She questions a lot of decisions he makes. I said to simply, and sincerely, privately ask her how she feels things are going. He was amazed. She opened up, shared her thoughts, and had some great observations.

It should be obvious, but isn’t always, that people want to be heard. They have opinions, and as long as you are open to hearing them, they can be a great source of information, advice, and strategy moving forward.

People in your employ are worth your time and attention. And they have ideas and thoughts that are worth sharing. If you aren’t sure about this, one of two things has to change: either the employee has to go, or you have to be more open-minded.

You are in control of both possible outcomes.

Do you take the time to listen?



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“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS