Once, the rule.

Now, the exception.

 

Best Business Policy, eh?

You expected maybe some cataclysmic statement from the dregs of academia?

You thought maybe some esoteric pronouncement of apocalyptic proportions was about to come crashing down on the world of business owners and cause you to shift into fourth gear to keep up with the corporate bailout recipients?

Or, ah, a new way of thinking for 9AM tomorrow?

Sorry to disappoint you, but tonight’s message is a simple reminder of what you already know, but are perhaps occasionally tempted to forget about once in awhile. When, praytell, might you forget something as important as the Best Business Policy?

Well, it’s entirely possible that you may have overlooked it one recent night when the moon was full enough to see that business just isn’t happening like it was before the recession (which we’re now being told ended in June! What a wonderful thing! Must be that a new one started in July).

Anyway, it could have been that night when the bill-collector werewolves were howling on your doorstep.

Now, I’m not accusing anyone here. I’m just saying. Maybe your empty wallet had some off-stage role in the production? Or maybe –like that courageous town meeting questioner of White House “hope and change” promises earlier this week made note of– you and yours are doing franks and beans these days instead of Saturday night out on the town dinners?

There are many reasons, including of course the economy, that might have prompted you to forget that Best Business Policy and stray per chance for a brief, uncomfortable moment or two. THE “Policy”? Oh, right! It’s the same one you learned from a grandparent, or a religious leader, or a parent or friend or boss, or Uncle Abe. It’s called Honesty. 

But that, you might say, isn’t a BUSINESS policy. And you could no doubt produce a laundry list of other “Policies” that you think deserve to come far ahead on the “Best” list. Things like “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and “Money-Back” and “Giving priority to customer and employee relationships.”

Hey, you know what? Those things are all great; they’re fine policies to practice, but  n~o~t~h~i~n~g  builds trust like honesty. And, in business, TRUST wins every time! More so with today’s informed and value-and-green-conscious consumer than ever before.

Everyone (except maybe Mother Teresa) tells lies sometime. And some very few of those –measured by most moral standards– might be acceptable in special circumstances. But never in business. A real business leader doesn’t tell lies. A real sales professional doesn’t tell lies. A real entrepreneur who is focused on making her idea work doesn’t tell lies.

Business lies always come back to bite your butt.

People judge you by the truth you tell, in your personal exchanges and the ways your business treats everyone who comes in contact with it — inside as well as outside! Honesty, STILL, is the Best Business Policy. And practice makes perfect!    

302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!