Dealing with People

Once in a while I look through the list of people who open my Top of Mind messages to try to get a gauge on who is reading, and what you may want to hear from me.  And of course, I get responses and thoughts from many of you to tell me what you think.

The other day I was speaking to a retail jeweler in the Midwest who is assuming control of his business with his brother, a store started by their father, and developed into a modern fine jewelry store today.  Our discussion focused around inventory management initially, but morphed into a discussion of personnel, recruiting, dealing with the millennial generation, and various challenges of running a fine jewelry store.

Whether you are a retailer, wholesaler, owner, manager, employee, or in sales, dealing with people is always a challenge in business and in life.  I doesn’t matter what you do.  Your ability to work with people, maintain patience, guide and direct, and ultimately cope with the human experience is a key to enjoying work and life.

There is a tendency to think that we are alone in this experience.  But everyone has the same issues.  It is our ability to deal with people that is the key to our success.  The best remedy I have found is to have people close to you who you can talk to, gain advice, and learn from.  Having someone “coach you” is not a weakness.  It is an acknowledgement of strength, one that only comes when you are confident enough in yourself to know when you need a second opinion and some ongoing counsel to achieve greater success.

As I often say, if you need such an advisor – and everyone does – make sure to get one.  It will make both your business and your life much better.

Are You Grateful?

My bridge partner has an interesting saying.  When I ask him how he’s doing, he says: “I’m grateful for what I have, and I’m grateful for what I don’t have.”  Most of us think of what we have as good health, wealth, and possessions, and, hopefully, we are grateful for them.  But we seldom think of what we don’t have: cronic disease, broken relationships, economic plight, unbearable hardships, and more.  That’s why I’ll bet most of us don’t think about what we don’t have, and therefore forget to be grateful for it.  Gratefulness is a wonderful thing, both for what we have, and what we don’t have.

Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about…..

Business Tips:

• The culture of a company is developed and maintained by its leadership. Changing a culture isn’t easy, but it falls to the leader.
• People want to know that their work is valued and that their contribution to the success of the business is appreciated.
• Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. You just can’t beat honest testimonials. What do people say about you?

Life Tips:

• Real change requires a willingness to give up something you are accustomed to in order to take on something new and different.
• If we would only listen a little more to what others are saying, we would be much more likely to understand how they truly feel.
• The ability to have gratitude, to be grateful for life and even challenging circumstances, is not a gift, but rather an attitude.

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