"Absolutely amazing, priceless! I would absolutely recommend this to others!!! Helene is not only accurate, but her compassion, sympathy and wisdom make it a truly amazing experience."
Lessons for entrepreneurs from a corporate retirement party
I went to a retirement dinner last night. It was for someone I worked with over 10 years ago, and in addition to connecting again with old friends, it was really interesting to hear their comments about the corporate world.
Two main ideas kept coming up over and over again:
- The importance of relationships
- Their appreciation for people who are “real”
Relationships
The woman who retired was a person who did not manipulate, could be counted on to do a caring and ethical job, and was a source of solace and advice to her colleagues when they were going through hard times.
That was what everyone remembered, not her intelligence, efficiency, training and knowledge (though she had those in spades).
We exchanged stories of her good-natured pranks that were a boost to morale; people got teary-eyed over how she supported them when they faced divorce or illness; and we nodded our heads remembering how she often knew more about her clients than their own families did.
The employees around the room were bemoaning how they had no time to see each other anymore even if they worked on the same floor. They weren’t allowed to communicate via phone or e-mail to discuss a client request, instead having to use a specific request system that was meant to, I assume, help with the audit trail but prevented the joining of minds and use of common sense.
How does that relate to most of you who are entrepreneurs, other than making you glad you’re out of the corporate world?
It’s another reminder that what people want most is to feel connected to others, and that includes your prospects and clients.
And not just any kind of connection; they must feel like it’s genuine, coming from the real you.
Being real
At the retirement dinner, it was quite clear where the people’s loyalties were: with the managers and colleagues they could trust.
Some of the managers there would be shocked if they knew that they weren’t included in that category. After all, they never did anything dishonest.
But what worked against them is that they were the good soldiers giving their staff corporate edicts with a positive twist even when they didn’t make sense.
What’s wrong with that, you might ask; aren’t we supposed to keep a positive attitude?
The problem is that the staff can see through it all and feels like management thinks they’re stupid.
It’s all about being real, which brings me back to the lesson for us entrepreneurs.
As I keep saying, the best way to be successful is to create a business that reflects who you really are. Not only does it reduce your level of stress, it allows you to be naturally genuine.
People can sense anything that’s not authentic!
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment