Those shining eyes
Labor Day weekend. A great time to ponder the bigger picture, to think about what really matters. All of this came home to me in a new way, watching a video. It's twenty minutes long, so you'll probably want to watch it at home.
The part we're going to focus on comes fifteen minutes into the video. But, if you fast forward, you will miss seeing an example of a great teacher. Since a big part of successful management is teaching, the 15 minutes are well-spent. But enough about the video...take a look.
In all my years of musical education, from the time I was 8 through college, no one even came close to communicating the essence of music in the way that Zander manages to do in this one video. Even better, what he says about shining eyes captures so much of what I try to communicate in this blog every week. It is the essence, the capstone, the critical element that is exceedingly rare in all business articles.
When was the last time you saw "shining eyes" in the faces of your employees, managers, vendors, and customers? As Zander says, isn't that the real measure of success - being surrounded by "shining eyes"?
Watching Zander's talk, I was struck by how most of business teaching is all about "techniques." We spend far too much time obsessing about techniques, learning new techniques, documenting techniques, and telling our employees about techniques. These techniques are carefully packaged with catchy names, by people whose expertise is selling "new techniques" to people who run businesses.
Meanwhile, we miss the whole essence of business, which is this:
People prefer to do business with people who inspire them.
Put another way, if you want to have that I-can't-fill-the-orders-fast-enough feeling, all the time, for as long as you choose to be in business, you must be able to inspire others. You must be able to inspire your employees to give all they can, to always be thinking, to come up with great solutions, to behave honorably even when they're not being watched. You must be the company that everyone wants to work for, or do business with. You must be the company that customers choose, even if one or two features aren't "perfect."
If you aren't inspiring, you will have a harder time attracting and keeping good people. You will have to work really, really hard for every sale. When money gets tight, you'll be the first one they reject, as you compete for business, and the last one who gets new business when things pick up again. There's a lot to be said for being inspiring.
What are the characteristics of the people who inspire us? Let's look at it as if I were your employee, or vendor, or customer. What would you be like, if you inspired me?
1) You would be trust-worthy. I would trust you to do the right thing. I would trust your ability, your experience, and your judgment. Nothing in your behavior would raise any "red flags." I'd trust you cautiously at first, until I had been able to observe your behavior over time. But, then I would come to trust you completely, because you had never done anything to violate my trust.
2) I would learn from you. Because you're always learning, I would learn from you. I would learn as I watched you perform a task or think through a problem. In every interaction, I would come away richer.
3) You'd pleasantly surprise me. I'd come to you with a problem, expecting you to become frustrated or upset. Instead, you'd chuckle, say something comforting or educational, and we would set to work together on solving the problem. If I worked really hard on something, I might think that no one noticed. But, you would notice - and you'd make a point of thanking me, sincerely. After I'd known you a while, I'd think I had learned everything there was to know about you. But one day, you'd reveal that you knew a lot about something that had never come up before. We'd end up having a meaningful conversation about it.
4) You would be positive. We all have frustrations, problems, and setbacks. You'd inspire me - because even though you also have all those problems, just like everyone else, you would be positive. You would truly believe that there always has to "be a way." Zander, in the video, talks about how much less inspiring it would have been if Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream," then had suddenly become pensive and worried, and said, "Of course, I'm not sure they'll be up to it."
How are the eyes of those around you? Are they shining? Or, are they shielded, cautious, afraid? Are they dark and combative, or open and embracing?
What could you do that would start to fill your business - and your life - with shining eyes?
