5 Ways Benevolence Influences Your Bottom Line
Kill ‘Em With Kindness
By Simon T. Bailey, author/leadership expert, Windermere, Fla.
“Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.”
- Og Mandino, author, The Greatest Salesman that Ever Lived
This priceless wisdom is true. While in Seattle, Wash.—corporate headquarters for Amazon.com, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Costco—Ihad an opportunity to connect with Blair deLaubenfels and Christy Weber, the founders of a brilliant business, Junebug Weddings. When I asked them their business philosophy, they said their secret ingredient is kindness.
This is so true that it permeates the entire business—impacting the people they hire, the members who join, and the customers they serve. How does this work? For example, deLaubenfels describes it this way: Suppose there is a giant piece of pie. Instead of trying to eat the entire pie, why not take a slice, pass it around, and share it with everyone. “Make a friend,” she says, “Not just a sale.” BOOM—that’s priceless.
Chiming in, Weber says they aim to make everyone feel special in every interaction. She says: Always leave space for kindness and you may just be surprised to find out that not only do people appreciate it, but they become your unofficial marketing department. Junebug Weddings has experienced this firsthand when unsolicited members tell perspective members about the brilliance, kindness, and authenticity of the business. In fact, in the last five years, it has become one of the most popular, trendsetting and well-respected wedding brands in the world as they promote wedding photographers, planners, and designers.
How will a philosophy of kindness positively impact your bottom line? Here are five tips:
1) Examine Your Purpose
Be in business to make meaning in addition to making money. In the book Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, authors Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth, and David Wolfe say, “We’re entering an Age of Transcendence, as people increasingly search for higher meaning in their lives, not just possessions. This is transforming the marketplace, the workplace, the very soul of capitalism. Increasingly, today’s most successful companies are bringing love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses; they are delivering emotional, experiential, and social value—not just profits.” You can reinforce this by giving feedback to employees on what’s working and what’s not. This allows them to course correct in a forward direction.
2) Spread the Love
Can you believe I just used love in a business context? The reality is that everyone wants it, and knows when they don’t feel it. Find a way to exceed customer hopes and dreams by listening, asking, surprising and delighting them with the smallest things. Call five clients you haven’t spoke with in awhile, and don’t ask for anything. Just tell them you were thinking of them and wanted to say hello.
3) Pursue Significance—Success Will Follow
All over the planet, people are waking to realize that success is empty but significance is fulfilling. Success is a fleeting moment, but significance is lasting. Success is empty after the applause stops, and the dust collects on the award plaque; however, significance is a constant companion that reminds us to serve all, love everyone, and never take anyone for granted. Success may come as the result of a position, acquisition, or fulfillment of an unmet need; however, significance involves working diligently when no one is looking and understanding that it’s better to give than receive.
4) Forgive and Move On
Stop crying over spilled milk. It happened. Let it go, and move on. You are wasting precious energy on trying to fix or change someone or something. It is what it is. The future moves toward you when you let go of whatever has been holding onto you.
5) Ask, “What Else Can I Do for You?”
This simple question shows that not only are you seeking to complete a transaction, but also you are interested in going the extra mile. What does this look like in your business? Seek opportunities to anticipate unspoken needs in the business relationship. This could make a brilliant difference and produce unexpected results.
