Good Relationships Are Good Business
by Jim Fuller
Published in Midwest Meetings Magazine
When Dan Quayle spoke up for family values, everyone laughed. It was the '80s - the age of Material Girl Madonna, Ivana and The Donald, and Ron and Nancy's dynasty. You were what you wore, where you lived and what you drove. One of the hottest movies was Wall Street. And Yuppies' total focus was on corporate ladder climbing. For many people on the fast track to making a fortune, friends and family only got in the way.
Then, after stressing out for a decade, some of those people began re-evaluating their stand on long-term relationships. Maybe they realized their Rolexes didn't love them, or their BMWs didn't give anything back to them except a long commute on the freeway. For whatever reason, in the ''90s, "family values" has gone from being a joke to becoming a trend. And I think it's time to apply those values both at home and at work.
Twenty years ago, my partner and I formed a business. Today, we're still together; and we're still friends. Over the years, as the business grew, we hired other friends and new employees. Only three have ever left - and only to go to new places or new opportunities, with no bad feelings on their part or the company's.
Several of our clients have been with us for most of those 20 years. We started out running two or three projector slide shows for them. Those evolved into 30 projector wide-screen productions, then into videos. Now we're doing wall-to-wall integrated, computerized, meeting staging and support for them. We know them so well, we can often anticipate their needs before they voice them. We value them as clients; they trust us as business partners.
Good relationships with your employees, your clients, and other companies you work with are good business for several key reasons:
Your current clients are your best source of future business. If they trust you, they'll keep coming back to you. As they grow, their needs will grow, as will your business with them. If they truly value the work you do for them, they'll want to make sure you stay in business and prosper. So they'll recommend your services to their colleagues in other areas of their company and at other companies. A lot of our business comes from referrals.
Other suppliers you work with are a source of new business. As a meeting support services company, we work in tandem with production companies, advertising agencies, sound and equipment suppliers, and other vendors. They all have other clients. If their experience in working with us is congenial, cooperative, comfortable, and the outcome is positive, they pass that word - and our name - along to others.
Long-time employees are your most valuable assets. A huge investment in time and money is involved in training a new employee. Learning about your company, your clients, their businesses, their likes and dislikes doesn't happen overnight. It can take years of nurturing and development before a new employee is contributing to your company's success and profitability. In contrast, employees who have longevity with your company are contributing now. You share mutual respect and trust - or you certainly should. These employees are your most valuable asset and should be treated as such.
How you treat your employees reflects your ethical make-up. It also impacts your business. An employee who has been the manager of or the key person on important client accounts may have a closer relationship with those clients than you do. Should that employee leave unhappy, disgruntled, or feeling unfairly treated, no non-competitive clause in the world is going to keep him or her from eventually going after that business. Sam Walton didn't build Wal-Mart into the world's largest retailer by treating his employees poorly. On his way to becoming a billionaire, he made many of them millionaires. And that was his intent.
Happy employees are your best advertising, unhappy ones your worst. How many times have you heard "the word on the street?" Red Company is a sweatshop. Blue Company must be in trouble; they just laid off a bunch of people. The president of Yellow Company is an egotistical tyrant who's impossible to work for. Employees of Green Company are all working on their resumes. The gossip is interesting, even funny, unless it's about your company. Then it's damaging to your image and your business. The word on the street spreads like wildfire.
The '80s were the "Me" decade. I hope we'll look back on the '90s as the "We" decade; the time when companies of all kinds, but especially those in our business, came to realize that the relationships we have with our customers or clients, our employees and others with whom we work are really all we have. They can make us or break us. The rest is just bricks and mortar, equipment and office furniture.