The most important business relations are personal ones

 

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant that I could hardly stand him around. When I turned twenty one, I was amazed how much the old man had learned in seven years.” - Mark Twain   

Story Line: In the United States of America, this upcoming Sunday is celebrated as Father’s Day. Many people have fond memories of their Father or a Fatherly figure or a mentor in their lives. I would like to share one of the very important lessons that I learned from one such person between the years 1965 and 1969.

“The most important business relations are personal ones. Use the power of your finger to keep in touch on a daily basis. It is people who make things happen, not the machines.”
When I was in high school, I noticed that my father spent a lot of time on phone or socializing with people. I used to wonder, “This man has it easy. I have to go to school every day and then sweat over the homework and exams while this old man is having fun talking to people all day.”

Many years later, when I was working for a company in Arizona, my father visited my family. One day, my long contained curiosity prevailed and I asked, “How did you make so much money literally doing nothing except talking to people; while people like me had to suffer through the years of schooling and now sweat every day to earn a productive living?” I wanted to know the secret of his success.

He pointed his first finger and said that the secret was right in the power of that finger. He used that finger to regularly keep in touch with people, either through dialing on phones or writing notes. Those people were not only his current business associates but also the friends from school and college days and people he met in various places (conferences, airports, trains, and previous business ventures). He did not seem to know the modern day Network Theory terminology or corporate buzz words, but what he explained further as advantages of Human Relations falls right into the realms of those two areas.

1. Because of knowing a lot about people, he was able to quickly connect/help people (as well as get connected himself) who needed certain services with the ones who could provide those services. He used to call this his efficient Information Storage and Retrieval database. In Networking Theory terms, he acted as a Router (or others acted for his needs) and connected various Servers (people who had certain products and services) to workstations (People who needed those services). He felt that people spend a lot of time (Productivity Loss) in searching for right services or getting right customers.
2. Having good relationships not only saved a lot of search time but also saved relationship building (qualification) time. When you have maintained relationships with people, when you need to talk to them you don’t have to wait, sometimes for a long time, to get on their calendars. Since the other person knows you and your track record, credibility/goodwill is already established. In such cases, the matters are resolved with a quick phone call or a hallway chat.
3. He believed that when you keep in contact with many people, you are constantly aware of what is going on in this world; know opportunities for your talent and also about the opportunities to enhance your skills. In his opinion, this builds up a lot of confidence.
4. When you share your problems or dilemmas with others, you may find out that you are not the only one. They may have been through such issues and learning curves themselves. It is a great stress reliever when one does not feel isolated.

Reflection: Reach out and touch some one. “Most important business relationships are personal ones.” (He said this long before one phone company came out with an advertisement with that punch line in 1980s)

As Ralph Waldo Emerson rightfully said, "It is one of the beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself."

Next Week: What color is your bathroom? Creative Genius of Steve Jobs.

Comments

[Marlyn]

The picture and the story brings back memories. I would hold my dad's hand and go to market, movies and also watch sunset at Luneta. The greatest gift he gave me was to teach me to stand on my own feet.

[Thomas]

My father passed away when I was only 30, over 20 years ago, and I miss him to this day. The most important thing he gave me was a sense of ethics. He had more integrity than anyone I've ever known; that is a great gift to pass along to your sons.