Client focused

The best thing of being on the road and meeting new people is that it reminds me of a simple truth:

There are good people trying to run big and small businesses, looking to provide a service for people that is honorable, and in turn provide for their families, and they need help.  

They trust partners for help, guidance and direction, and solutions that help them grow their business. 

You can get caught up in all the political posturing and disagreements, yet at the end of the day, you need to keep your focus on how what you do impacts your clients.  

Remember the 80/20 rule and live by it!

If you spend time on something that isn’t going to help your client, then you shouldn’t be doing it.

In the end, it is all about the client

Our economic culture has become one that waves the financial flag.  The stock market looks at publicly traded companies and demand higher returns.  Every hick up in the world impacts a companies "value", regardless sometimes of what that company did or didn't do.  For a privately held company, most of the time, it isn't that different.  The principle owners expect their vision to by carried out and look to their CFO's to measure success based on a smattering metrix devices and drive the organization to an expected EBIDTA.

Leaders of organizations find themselves constantly being evaluated based on how much revenue comes in and how much profit is made.  In the end, the bottom line is all that really matters...well, let's look again.

When casting a vision and leading people, is waiving the financial banner and constantly putting a KPI update in front of them helping them to be better leaders?  Does the constant focus on wealth really improve a company, inpsire people to perform and ultimately create a strategy that is followed?  The hopeful positive outcome for a business is to make money of course, this is not denying the importance of profit, just questioning the method in which to achieve those desired results.

If leaders are to successfully lead people to the financial high ground, then they must be focused on having sales that are needed in the market, that are profitable and are sustainable.  The products and solutions offered need to be ones that clients see value.  Service needs to exceed expectations and keep clients returning.  This may seem to be common sense to you, and you may acknowledge clients are needed, but are they beloved and cared for and used as the measuring stick of the health of your organization?

A leader must listen to their clients.  Yes, that was a period.  The market is built of clients and consumers that have expectations, problems, needs and objectives, and in order to meet those, you need to listen.  You need to have a vantage point and understanding of the needs of your audience and lead your team in that direction.

Simply casting your vision, setting a financial objective and ignoring your client base will result in disaster.  We have talked about starting with your people, investing in them and having a heart to serve them versus direct them.   Now, we are talking about where to lead them to...and that answer is simple, where your clients wants to go.

What is your purpose?

Today I find myself traveling across the country to meet with clients and potential business prospects, and the question is really why?  Why am I spending time away from family?  Why travel and be exposed to germs and being tired and an interruption to my life?  Why fly to meet strangers and try to "sell" them on what we do?

If you contemplate questions like this for what you do each day, that is a good thing.  Having purpose and perspective on why we do something is very important to being a leader, and leading a better life.  In order to be an influence on others, we must ensure that what we are doing has purpose.  Spending our time and resources, and sacrificing what is missed during that time, is not something that should be done lightly.  Each meeting, each trip, each decision we make impacts people.  Once done, it is done.  That time cannot be returned to you, so choose wisely. 

The purpose in my trip, and most trips, is to sell sure, yet really it is to help our clients.  See, if you only look at your outcome (selling an order, closing business, making money, or whatever it may be), then your purpose is not aligned with one for successful leadership.  The outcome may be that we sell an order on this trip, however, our purpose in going is to talk to clients about how we can offer them solutions to help them grow their business.  If they see value in what we bring, and it does help grow their business, they will sign up, buy our solutions and ultimately continue to do so.

This is really how you need to look at the methods, decisions, conversations and actions you do as a leader.  By understanding that your purpose is to help another achieve their goals, then you now have a purpose that matters.  It isn't a self gain situation, it is now leading for their cause and helping them WIN.  By aligning your purpose with the needs of others, even those that report to you, or your children, and even a peer or neighbor, you have now decided that you will allow others to be more important than you.

This may seem in conflict to you with setting a vision or with being the leader and making decisions that sets direction.  It certainly is from traditional thinking, from those that struggle for power and for how our society chases after and raises up the leaders to heights that cannot maintain.  Our culture of leadership has become one that is based on how much power, or money, or status you have.  The ability to get others to do what you want them to do and for the leader to make millions in doing so, has become commonplace.  Ultimately, however, this process and purpose for leading is rejected by followers, by employees, by children and by those that are forgotten in the wake and aftermath of those selfish decisions.

Next time you make a decision, you set a direction, you plan to "sell" something, or you just need to get your kids to listen, try a new approach.  Ask yourself "what is my purpose in making this, or doing this".  If you really are interested in helping the other person achieve their goals, you will find that the direction you set will increase their willingness to follow, and ultimately a desirable outcome will be achieved.