The Are No Easy Answers

Some people assume there’s got to be a secret system to “getting it right” every time—a set of tricks. How else, they reason, can people far less competent consistently be more successful than they are? The temptation is to look for a quick and easy answer. There isn’t one. It’s critical to your success that you realize at the onset that there’s no trick, no secret, no magic bullet. The key is understanding that no situations or clients or employees are the same so, don’t treat them as such!

HEY! Pay Attention!!

My father was a successful surgeon, beloved by his patients and staff. When I was growing up, I used to make hospital rounds with him. It would take all morning. I’ll never forget my dad hovering over a patient and sweetly, with empathy, asking a series of fact-finding questions to discern progress from the day before. Patients would brighten up immediately upon seeing him and answer him thoughtfully and honestly. He was so concentrated on the responses that when I would ask him when we were going to lunch, he wouldn’t hear me. When he was with a patient, a marching band could have trooped down the hall and he wouldn’t have heard it!

This is the sort of interaction that needs to occur whenever you meet with a client or counsel an employee. Pay attention! Not only will they appreciate being heard but, you will be making sure you heard them correctly so that you can make a proper recommendation. We live in a world of distractions. Don’t let them get in the way of your mission.

Treat Clients Well…Just Not the Same

Back to my father. He was a very patient man, always giving people time to explain themselves and what they needed. In other words, he treated everyone well. But, of course, as a surgeon he didn’t treat them the same when it came to his recommendations. He believed no two patients were the same. He used to say, “If you decide to treat one patient the same as the other, you are putting at least one of them at risk.”

It’s the same for you. If you treat two employees or clients the same, ignoring differences like background, experience, personality, goals, etc., then at least one won’t be getting the guidance from you they need. You risk losing one or the other…or both. Can you afford to lose clients? Employees?

I’ve found that you honor others by treating them like no other individual you’ve ever met. This is how you stay fresh, engaged, on target and successful.

Has anyone ever treated you as if they were on autopilot? How? What was your reaction? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks. -sg