Where Do You Draw Your Circle?

Let’s say you decided to start a business (I know, some of you have, stay with me).

There are lots of things to think about – marketing, sales, production, financials, and LOTS more. But regardless of what type of business you are in, you can’t do it alone. You will have suppliers – from insurance to… well, everything.

And in your business, since you have so many things to do, wouldn’t it be nice if some of those pieces were easier to manage? Most people look to solve that through strategic and effective hiring, which is a great idea. You bring in a rock star marketing team, a top financial mind, etc., to help you grow the business and make your life easier.

Selection however is just the start. The best leaders/business owners select the right people, but do the things to make them more valuable by helping them understand the bigger picture of the business. When they understand more and see where they fit, they make better decisions as employees and become far more valuable – and your work as the owner/leader gets easier (and you become more productive and profitable).

This is where most businesses draw the circle. Their team is their staff – and as leaders build their staff’s knowledge skills and experience, they become more valuable to the organization.

If you were that business owner, wouldn’t you want to have those same benefits of a great internal team in as many ways as you could? Wouldn’t you want to have suppliers that really understand your business, and are willing to build the knowledge, expertise, and experience that allows you to leverage and grow with that help?

Now let’s flip the coin over.

You aren’t that business owner.

You are the owner or leader of a team that is one of that owner’s suppliers. Now let me ask you four questions. I’ll even give you the answers.

Four Questions

If you can build that kind of relationship and add that kind of value for your Customer, will they benefit?  <Yes>.

Will you and your team benefit from that relationship by having greater stability, focus, and results for yourself?  <Yes>.

Will it require more of you and your team to build this type of relationship than doing things the way you already do them?  <Yes>.

Will it be worth the effort? <Yes>.

Hopefully this scenario gets you thinking and challenges your status quo approach to your relationships with your Customers.

Next week, I will give you specific tools and ideas to achieve these goals.  In the meantime, think more deeply about those four questions.