Are You Helping Or Hurting Your Business?

Are you helping or hurting your business?  Not many business owners want to intentionally hurt their businesses, but many do through their words and their actions.  This can be done in the public sphere, with customers or even with employees.  None of it may be intentional, but the result is the same – your business suffers.

In public, have you made a statement that has put your organization in a negative light?  Or have you, in a very visible way, stated something that wasn’t in the best interest of your employees or customers?  If you can be heard saying something that might either be perceived as disrespectful or is actually disrespectful to your employees or customers, it won’t help your business.  Customers and employees will associate your words with the values of the organization.  As a business leader, you are the walking embodiment of your organization.  Front-line employees may be a representative of your organization to customers; but to both employees and customers, you yourself are the organization.  And they have a point.  People follow leaders, not because leaders are always right, but because they are in charge in one way or another.  If you are the CEO of a business, people will model your behavior or at least look to it for guidance as to what they should aspire to be.  If you act like a jerk, the business is a jerk.

Maybe it’s your actions, or even inaction, that aren’t in the best interest of your employees or customers.  Actions do speak louder than words in many cases, so if you promise one thing and do another, others will take notice.  Anything you do or say in public can affect your business both positively and negatively.  Choose wisely.

Or perhaps it isn’t something you are doing in public, maybe it is just how you interact with customers.  It could be what you say to them, but chances are, you aren’t the one speaking directly to them.  It most likely is your actions towards them that are hurting your business.  Are you listening to them?  Are you showing them that you are listening to them by putting their feedback into something they can see?  Are you making their interests a priority or are you putting profits or your own perceptions above what they are telling you?  They could be trying to communicate with you through their words, either feedback or comments, or they may be communicating to you through their actions, either by purchasing or not purchasing your products.  Are you selling, or forcing them to buy, what you think they want versus discovering what they truly want?  Selling things people don’t want or ignoring their needs isn’t helping your business.

How about your employees?  Are you listening to them?  And not just “allowing them to talk,” but truly listening and hearing what they are trying to tell you.  Do you understand where they are coming from?  When they tell you something that you don’t want to hear, are you defensive or dismissive or you do honestly look for the truth in what they are saying?  Do you disrespect them?  How well do you treat them?  Sure, you give them a paycheck, but they give you their time and effort.  Are you respectful of that?

You may believe that by prioritizing output, you are helping your organization, but what does that mindset do to your employees?  How does it affect them?  Have you thought this idea through?  Have you analyzed the best way to increase output in a humane way?  It may be easy to create lofty goals from your corner office, but what does your plan do to the day-to-day experience of those working for you?  Have you updated processes and systems or otherwise made it possible for your employees to do what you are now asking of them?  Is it even possible for them to accomplish the new goals?  Don’t set them up for failure.  That isn’t helping your business.

Are you thinking more about how something will make you look rather than how it will affect others?  That’s not going to help your organization.  It won’t help you either, mainly because it won’t help your business.  You help your organization by understanding that everything you do or say affects others – employees, customers, potential customers, stockholders.  It isn’t just about you.  If you are the only one you’re helping, by your words and/or actions, or are the main beneficiary of whatever it is that you are doing, then do not claim that it’s for your organization.  It’s not.  You’re not fooling anyone but yourself.