We hear it all the time, successful people stick to it. They don’t give up. They try, try again. But sometimes in spite of all that effort, success is still elusive. What should you do? It may be time to abandon ship!
Click the player to listen to this episode of The BIGG Success podcast. Find the summary below.
In our last podcast, we said that persistence is the single most important ingredient for your success. If you persist long enough, you’re sure to succeed! However, you have to be smart about it. There are 4 signs it’s time to abandon ship – some are internal and external.
Sometimes we face a battle. It’s not a battle between good and evil. It’s a battle between two competing forces for good. Should we be honest? Or should we be kind?
Picture this … your best friend just had a baby. He’s so proud that the buttons on his shirt are popping. He takes you to see the little guy. Now, the little guy is the ugliest baby you’ve ever seen. He’s so ugly you’re not even sure he’s human!
So your friend turns to you and says, “Isn’t he the best looking baby you’ve ever seen?”
Panic sets in. What do you say? Beads of sweat start forming on your forehead. Do you tell the truth? Or should you be nice?
Artificial dissemination can be used as a tool for kindness.
Authentic vs. “Fake it until you make it”
Now we want to talk about telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
That’s another battle which we must fight every day. We often hear that we should be authentic. Yet we also hear people say that you have to “fake it until you make it.”
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I’m authentic every day … when I first get up. If I wanted to be authentic, I would never shave!
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I wouldn’t wear any make-up!
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It is important to be true to yourself. People can spot a fake. But “fake it until you make it” doesn’t necessarily mean being someone you’re not.
Artificial dissemination can be a tool for casting yourself in the best light.
We’ve talked before about the entrepreneurial roller coaster ride. But people like to do business with successful people. When you’re at the bottom of the ride, you don’t have to tell the world. Just confide in a few close friends or trusted advisors and project an image of success to the rest of the world.
The whole world doesn’t have to know the whole truth. In many cases, with most people, part of the truth will suffice just fine! You’re not on the witness stand for crying out loud!
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I think with social media we sometimes broadcast things about ourselves, not remembering that hundreds or thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of people are going to see it.
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You have to manage your reputation just like companies manage their reputations.
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I remember seeing a tweet from a person I follow. She had just lost her job. I don’t remember what she said, but it was something that would have been better left unsaid.
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The stories you tell about yourself shouldn’t be fiction. But occasionally, you may think of them as part of a docudrama. You can put a positive spin on things. Sometimes that leads to bigg success!
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Authentic or fake it until you make it. Where do you come down in the debate? Share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 877.988.BIGG(2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.
We have a friend who was recently let go from a company for whom he had worked for nearly twenty years. The entire conversation with his supervisor took less than a minute.
To clarify the situation, he was one of twenty or so people who lost his job that day at the local branch of a large company. This scenario was repeated over and over again at all the branches of that company as they responded to low earnings.
In most businesses, people are the most precious asset. So why do corporations act like they’re not. And let’s be clear here – corporations don’t do anything. They can’t. It’s humans who treat humans like this.
It’s the managers within those companies who are doing this. It’s probably their managers, or their manager’s manager, who insists that it be done.
Managers within companies are being asked to do more and more with less and less. So some people get laid off. In many, if not most cases, they’re good employees who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They’re reasonable people who can understand that sometimes tough choices have to be made. They’ve cared for their employer; they expect their employer to give them the same respect.
Which leads to our next question:
Why do companies burn bridges?
We’re told from a young age that we shouldn’t burn bridges. We get upset when our employees fail to give us notice. We think we deserve that much respect.
Don’t our employees deserve respect too?
We also believe that you have to understand the bigg picture. These employees you’re letting go today may be your best candidates tomorrow – if you handle it properly.
These people may be customers, too. They may know people who are your customers. What are you doing to your reputation when you show no respect for your employees?
And what are you saying to the employees who remain? Aren’t you saying that people don’t matter? That the only thing that’s important is this quarter’s earnings?
Doesn’t an employee who’s been with a company for nearly twenty years deserve more than a minute from his manager when he gets laid off? We think so!
We think he deserved a conversation at least twenty times that long! How about a minute for every year he devoted? Is that asking too much? We don’t think so!
We think he deserved a complete explanation about what was going on and why his position was being eliminated.
We think he deserved to be reassured that he hadn’t done anything wrong.
We think he deserved to know if it was possible that his position would be available again if the company turned things around.
We think he deserved his manager’s best guess about the likelihood of that happening.
We think he deserved to know what resources were available to him to find another job or career, even if the company wasn’t willing to pay for it.
We think he deserved a written letter of recommendation that he could use to find that next position.
We think he deserved to be thanked for all that he had done.
We think he deserved to be treated like a human being!
We think managing is a tough job. But don’t make it tougher by treating people inhumanely and burning bridges. Give them the respect they deserve. Otherwise, you’ll lose more in the long run, as a manager and as a human being. Oh, and one more thing, your company will lose even more than you do.
Bigg Challenge We received an e-mail from Joe who recently agreed to serve on a committee of a local non-profit organization. He’s discovered that it’s a bigger commitment than he thought. So he wants to know what he should do to get out of it.
Bigg Advice You obviously had good intentions, Joe. Sometimes our circumstances change – health issues, new responsibilities, extra care for loved ones, or any number of things. Since there’s no mention of that in your e-mail, we’ll assume that it’s not the case here. 5 options to reduce your responsibility to this commitment
#1 – Quit This is the most cut-and-dry way to do it. However, keep in mind that it may damage your reputation. That’s why we don’t think it’s a very good option. #2 – Fulfill your commitment We think your best option is to suck it up and honor your commitment. Then don’t recommit at the end of your term. You’ll deliver on your promise. Your reputation will remain intact. Learn from this experience so you don’t repeat it.
#3 – Find someone to replace you We think this is your next best option. If you know someone who is interested in the organization, talk to them to see if you can recruit them to take your place. You’ll leave with your reputation intact because you didn’t leave the group hanging.
#4 – Find someone who can help you Can someone assist you? For example, perhaps they could make phone calls or send e-mails for you. Delegate some of the work so the commitment is more in line with what you thought.
#5 – Can you be reassigned? Talk to chair person of the committee. Maybe you can “trade duties” with someone else on the committee who is looking for more responsibility. If your circumstances have changed, the chair person will probably be happy to help.
We’ve been in this situation ourselves, Joe. The bottom line is that you should try to minimize the damage to yourself and the organization.
2 tips to keep this situation from repeating itself #1 – Don’t commit on the spot Many people are very flattered when they are recruited to serve. They often say “yes” on the spot, without really giving it much thought.
To keep this from happening again – commit to never committing on the spot!
The U.S. government has laws to protect consumers – you get 72 hours to reconsider a purchase. That’s a good rule when someone asks you to give your time …
Give it a day or three!
Thank them for considering you but tell them you’ll need to think about it for a few days. #2 – When you say “yes” to anything, you’re saying “no” to something. A lot of people don’t think about this. As you’re considering giving your time for a new cause, think about what you’ll have to give up because we all only have 24 hours in a day!
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bigg-success_stacked-1080.png10801080George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2008-04-17 00:13:572015-06-14 15:28:17I Changed My Mind – How Can I Back Out of a Commitment?
All of these things affect a company’s reputation. Stephen Covey, in his great book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talks about “emotional bank accounts”. When we do good things, deposits are made into our emotional bank account; when we do bad things, withdrawals are made.
Trust is built as we make more deposits. Relationships are built on trust. According to BBB, the single biggest factor in earning customer trust is honesty, closely followed by dependability.
Today, we’ll look at three things that you can do to increase your customers’ trust.
Under-promise, then over-deliver
Unfortunately, we usually see the opposite. In most cases, the intentions are good. However, good intentions don’t build relationships. Good actions do. One of the keys here is to manage expectations to make sure you don’t over commit.
On the show, George talked about a customer who wanted him to commit to something he didn’t he could do. After much prodding, he told the customer that he could lie to her now, and make her happy. But she would probably be disappointed later.
Or she could accept what he’s saying, and be happy when he was able to do it. He asked which one she preferred. She understood.
Tell me now and it’s an explanation. Tell me later and it’s an excuse. Customers accept explanations; nobody likes excuses. Once you have set the proper expectations, you can work to exceed them. That’s where it gets fun!
Follow-through
This is closely related to the first point, but it’s so important that we thought it deserved to be separate. Say what you’ll do, and then do what you say. We’re all so busy these days; it’s easy to make promises that we don’t keep. Don’t be one of those people! Follow-through.
Develop a personal system that tracks your promises so you rarely “drop the ball”.
During the show, George talked a friend who’s in sales. When he called prospects, they often told him to call back some time later. He developed a system to notify him when he should call them back. Then he called them!
George liked this idea. He started testing sales people by agreeing to a follow-up date. A very small percentage actually did it! If someone won’t live up to their promises before they sell you something, how do you think they’ll do afterwards?
Follow-through won’t always make you money, but it always builds trust.
Address the needs of your customer first, then worry about your needs.
On the show, Mary-Lynn talked about her sister, who recently saw some fraudulent activity on her credit card. When she called the credit card company, they tried to sell her another credit card and additional services on her current credit card.
She explained that she didn’t care about that right now; she was stressed out that someone was using her credit card. The service representative just kept pitching her on other services.
It’s hard to understand why anyone would design a process that way. If someone comes to you with a need, you won’t get anywhere until that need is addressed.
How do you build trust with your customers?
As a customer, what do you wish businesses would do?
Leave us a comment.
Going back to the survey, we talked about honesty and dependability, which finished first and second in building trust. In case you’re wondering, here are the next three:
#3 – safe products
#4 – value
#5 – price
There’s one more thing that we found interesting from this survey:
67% of the respondents would rather patronize a small business than a large one.
That’s good news for all you small business owners. You have an edge – consumers trust you more! And now may be a good time to start that business you’ve been dreaming about. Check out 117 10 Signs That You’re Ready To Quit Your Job And Start A Business].
Our Bigg Quote today comes from Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s.
“If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”
Remember that your customers will last if they feel like you put them first. Your honesty and dependability leads to their loyalty.
Next time, we’ll talk about the marshmallow test. Can you resist sweet temptations? Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
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Today we’ll wrap up our discussion about artificial dissemination. Last time, we talked about 
I’m authentic every day … when I first get up. If I wanted to be authentic, I would never shave! 
We have a friend who was recently let go from a company for whom he had worked for nearly twenty years. The entire conversation with his supervisor took less than a minute. 
Bigg Challenge