Tag Archives: life lessons

July 16, 2013 · 10:13 am

Staying Together

It’s Tunesday! Today is a special one for me since it’s the 35th anniversary of the day the Mrs. and I got married. Because of that, I wanted a song from roughly the time when we got married that’s also a love song. What popped into my head this morning is “Let’s Stay Together“, a hit for both Al Green and Tina Turner.   The two hits actually happened on either side of our wedding date and I’m very aware that a lot of folks use this as a wedding song (we didn’t – Embraceable You, as I recall…).  I’ve always thought that Al Green’s version was way too low-key for the passion of the song and the video below is a live Tina Turner version which captures the song’s essence:

So what’s this got to do with business?  Actually, quite a bit.  You see, trying to stay together is what all of us do as businesses – with our customers, our team, and our vendors:

Let’s, let’s stay together
Lovin’ you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad

The one thing that makes a relationship last is the trust that you’re standing on certain ground.  As the lyric says, you may go through bad times as well as good but never wondering about the underlying connection is crucial.  A customer with issues may not be happy but they’ll stay a customer if they trust you’re working to resolve their problem.  They want to hear “let me be the one you come running to”, not “I’m unable to help you.”

At its core, a relationship of any sort involves an investment of some sort.  While there is a lot of sanity in not throwing good money (literally and figuratively) after bad, it’s generally easier to keep a customer than to find new ones.  A commitment to trying to stay together makes that happen.  That’s how you celebrate 35 years as partners!

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July 9, 2013 · 10:15 am

The Heart Of The Matter

I’ve officially named this day of the week TunesDay. Just as Fridays are for food-related screeds, I’m going to try to stick to music on this day of the week. Forewarned is forearmed!

Don Henley

Of course, since it’s a music day, let me talk about sports (hard to keep up with me, isn’t it?). I read a piece yesterday about Michael Dyer, a former running back who played for Auburn. He was suspended by Auburn in December 2011, late in his sophomore season, for failing a drug test. He’s never been convicted of a crime but has made some incredibly stupid decisions about his friends.  I bring this up because this kid, who has 2 years of eligibility left and is a top player, can’t get a sniff from any school to go play football. Too risky. Too many other choices out there. He damaged his brand and now needs forgiveness.

Which leads to today’s song (you knew I’d get here!).  One of my favorite songs comes from Don Henley and is called “The Heart Of The Matter.”  A live performance is below.  The song is about someone screwing up and asking for forgiveness – not to wipe away the transgression but to heal the wound:

I’ve been tryin’ to get down
To the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it’s about…forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore

I think it’s a beautiful, heartfelt  soliloquy on the subject.  That’s what Dyer is seeking and I think it’s what many businesses end up seeking as well.  The problem is that it’s not always forthcoming, even if the business knew how to ask in terms even half as wonderful as these.

Some business people with whom I’ve worked have felt the “better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission” approach is the preferable way to go.  I disagree.  We live in an age when consumers and clients have access to multiple sources for virtually anything.  Schools can find great running backs – thank you web-based recruiting sites – and vet them carefully.  Who needs to take the risk that an entire program suffers due to one bad apple?

As a brand and a business, the heart of the matter is that behaving honorably – transparently, respecting privacy, keeping the customer’s perspective – negates the need to ask for forgiveness.  It’s not something you want to do, even in terms as nice as these.

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June 27, 2013 · 8:58 am

Guest Post: Expiration Dates

My friend Robin is lawyer but I don’t hold that against her (he said, alienating a fair number of his friends…).  She had some really interesting thoughts on the topic of holding on to the past that I asked her to share.  Hopefully you’ll find them as thought-provoking as I did.
Why is it that very few of the finer things in life have never-ending shelf lives? The old vintage bottle of wine…it stays safe and protected, buried deep down in the wine cellar until you decide to dig it out and pop the cork. Then its days are numbered. The time starts ticking away. A lovely French cheese, fresh fruit, and even bright light bulbs, they are all destined to burn out sooner rather than later. Even though you can replace these things, are they as good the second time around?
Why is it that so many things in life are perishable, only at their peak for a short while? More importantly, why do we seem to hold on to things that have long since reached their expiration dates? We know that using expired products is recipe for disaster. It is toxic and unhealthy. We understand that with food, but why doesn’t it click in other areas of our lives – business, relationships, or even wearing that old worn out pair of shoes that hurts our back? Do we honestly need a “good if used by” stamp on everything in our life so we know when to let things go? Would we be better off if there were some predetermined formula to tell us when it’s time to let go?
As I am cleaning out my office, I am amazed at all the “stuff” I have amassed. Most of it has long since expired, even if only in theory. I’m purging the outdated and irrelevant to make room more new possibilities, better opportunities. Why have I spent so much time and energy holding on to things that never really mattered? It is just because there was no expiration date? Because I didn’t know its shelf life? It’s much easier to discard something that has surpassed its expiration date than to make a conscious choice to throw something away without the guidance of a date. That date is like a security blanket.
With dates, there’s no questioning, no second guessing. You just know. You could enjoy things for the time they’re available, regardless of how long or short.  Why do I still have an address book from 2000 and a Rolodex from 2003 (Yes, I trashed both of them)? My office has moved four times since then. Did I seriously cart these things around? They are irrelevant.
If there’s any purpose to carrying around this much baggage, I have no clue what it is.
I think we all can probably do a little cleaning out of our offices and homes, don’t you?  New “stuff” awaits – you just need the room to let it into your life!  Thoughts?
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