Marcus Straub
It’s a common perception in business: Success is the result of selling as many products and services as possible at the highest price possible to make as much money as possible. In actuality, this is a very limiting view of success that, if followed, leaves everyone involved feeling used; taken advantage of; vastly undervalued; and, most importantly, unhappy.
I suggest a truly successful business strives to create as much happiness as possible for customers, team members, business owners and the community while turning a profit in the process.
All of this begins with the life-blood of any successful business, its customers. If they aren’t happy with the products and services provided to them in exchange for their hard-earned money, they won’t return and are unlikely to speak highly of your company.
As you consider each customer, it’s important to see them as a human being who has chosen to do business with you and not merely as a dollar sign that will add to your bottom line. When customers are valued and treated with the respect and caring they deserve, they’ll become raving fans of you, your team and your business over time.
This same principle applies to your team members. Without them, your company wouldn’t function. Without their dedication, it would be impossible to conduct high quality business. Their agreements to spend large portions of their lives to earn a living and help you in business shouldn’t be taken for granted. Like you, your team members have dreams of happiness and success. Their families depend on them just as yours depend on you.
Team members aren’t cogs in the wheel of business, they’re human beings. When you value and treat them with dignity, they’ll give their best to you and your customers. Your team members serve as a conduit between your business and your customers. The more you care for your team members, the more they’ll care for you.
You wouldn’t want your customers or team members to take you for granted or limit your dreams. Consequently, it’s vital you lead with integrity and by example toward the outcomes you want to achieve.
When you operate from the mindset that others want to be happy and successful just as you do, you’ll see and treat people differently. Through this larger perspective, customers and team members cease to be objects necessary to achieve your financial dreams. They become critical links in a chain that creates happiness and success throughout the process of doing business.
It’s absolutely true you can’t please everyone. Some customers and team members will never be satisfied with your exceptional efforts. In the pursuit of greater happiness and success, you’ll need to let certain customers and team members go.
But without fail, companies that choose to operate with a “win-win-win” perspective in which happy customers, team members and owners succeed are the most rewarding companies to do business with, work for and run.
In my extensive work with a wide variety of companies, I’ve repeatedly witnessed the dramatic differences between businesses that truly care about their customers and team members and those that don’t. It’s wise to work with a qualified professional who can coach you on becoming a great business leader who strives to create as much happiness and success as possible for everyone involved.
There’s more to business success than money, prestige and power. When business is conducted in ways that honor and support everyone involved, the business is positioned to serve the purpose of creating greater happiness and success in the world as a whole. Its purpose becomes a more encompassing endeavor, one not solely focused on providing wealth to owners and investors.
The bottom line is that your customers, your team members and you are all in business together. When you operate from this balanced perspective — one that includes the best interests of everyone involved, and not just yours — the success of your business and the happiness you create will exceed anything you ever imagined.
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