Ran across a great post over at Brains on Fire recently that spoke to the necessity of companies being human. It’s well beyond the time of shedding fear. In their terms; “welcome to a brave new world.” Be it on your facebook pages, your blog, your web copy on the phone or in person; it’s paramount that you go for friend first and business transaction second. The hard part is letting your company hair down; in that context consider this.
It’s Time to Shine
Imagine for a moment; you meet a cool guy or gal at xyz function and decide that the two of you should get together again sometime. You agree to call in a couple days to see about a time and place to meet. When you call you let him/her know that you have appts stacked on top of appts but you can squeeze them in around six two months from Tuesday. Oh and, by the way, don’t forget to bring your credit card.
It’s a bit tongue in cheek but in the same respect it is how we treat the human beings that are reaching out to befriend us in our businesses. “Thank you for calling Hidden Treetop Village on Golden Pond Apartments; this is Suzy Trying to Hard to be Cheery Cardwell; how can I be of service to you today?” People see right through the lipstick.
Do we talk to friends like that?
0 Responses
Definitely make friends first, business second. You’ll gain so much more in life! 🙂
LZ
Good morning to you!!! You raise a compelling point is one short word…life. I am sure you can speak to some amazing relationships that have come out of your friend first approach to business.
It seems the more you treat people like human beings in lieu of numbers; the more you enrich your own being. And, like the law of compounding returns, over time it pays back in spades. It creates the wealth in your life that is defined by more than dollars in the bank.
Have a compelling day!
And, thank you for taking the time to give some feedback – it is always appreciated.
M
I’ve had this approach for the 23 years I’ve been in the industry. There were times (when the company I worked for at that time) frowned upon the “friendly” approach. They said it wasn’t proper business etiquette. I never did understand their “approach” and I never did conform! 🙂
Rebel with a human cause! Love it.
This is one of those topics I love to discuss with people. It’s hard to be human in a digital space without a bit of effort. Often times I pretend the conversation is live and that helps. It takes extra effort to apply that human touch in a digital world and to make sure we do not get desensitized. Thanks for the post Mike.
J
You are so very right; we lose context in the digital space. I think, just
like anything, it’s an art. The longer I participate in the digital the more
artisans I see. I will say that about you; you have really honed the skill
such that I think people feel compelled to reach out to learn more about
what you do. I can say that was the case for Mills reaching out to you. We
felt the friend first business second philosophy at work.
Thanks for all that you give to bringing a human side to a digital space.
M
J
You are so very right; we lose context in the digital space. I think, just like anything, it’s an art. The longer I participate in the digital the more artisans I see. I will say that about you; you have really honed the skill such that I think people feel compelled to reach out to learn more about what you do. I can say that was the case for Mills reaching out to you. We felt the friend first business second philosophy at work.
Thanks for all that you give to bringing a human side to a digital space.
M