By Jonathan Clausen, owner & president of Lilac City LLC.
In today’s world, so much communication has become a text message, email, phone call or even a Zoom meeting. The human-to-human interactions are being lost in translation. At my company, I do my best to promote face-to-face conversations and ensure that a handshake still matters. Here are three ways you can do this, too.
1. Encourage in-person meetings whenever possible. I rely heavily on phones because email, text and even Zoom, to a degree, have all become so impersonal. The “old school” way of conducting business—truly a face-to-face or voice-to-voice agreement—is one of the best ways to ensure that a business deal is right. Both parties should feel like they win and that they got something of benefit. I stand behind the value “that a handshake or your word means more than your signature.”
To instill this within your business, having “face time” with your people, upper management and customers is crucial in keeping businesses connected to their roots.
2. Give more to the world/your people than you take. This is a very broad yet specific statement. As long as you give more than you take in every scenario, you will always know that you’ve given it your best and elevated yourself to a point 98% of the population cannot (meaning they choose not to). This is a huge problem in today’s society, but we must continue to do this, because without people who give more than they take there would not be an example or milestone to hit. Giving more than you take is a lifestyle; it isn’t just giving to charity or being kind to thy neighbor or helping the old lady at the grocery store load her groceries. It’s a lifestyle, decision and mindful choice one must make as a leader. We have to give back to the youth of our communities by mentoring and coaching them. Teaching the younger generation is the only way we will insure the security of our future.
3. Do what is right by your neighbor, and do what is right even when no one is looking. Living our lives by doing the right thing, and knowing it, even if no one else ever knows, can take you places in business that no one else will be able to reach. I truly believe that to make it far within the business world you must stand out as being the one everyone knows does it the “right way.” By doing this, you can start to build upward momentum. It may not happen overnight, but results take time in almost any endeavor. When everything is on the line and you need your business to grow, you have to stick to your roots, even if it means skipping on the financial benefit or being less fulfilled in the workplace.
Keep your head up when operating under these three core foundations and opportunities will be more likely to come to you and your business.
