Business has in the past been likened to an
exercise in warfare.
Competitors certainly have been looked upon
as the enemy... to be destroyed (meaning, put out of business) if
possible.
Beyond the competitors, when business is
perceived as a battleground, the enemy can be suppliers, customers, bankers,
investment analysts, and even venture capitalists and stockholders.
Consequently, stress and tension have been
considered to be a fact of life on the job. However...
It's
unhealthy for human beings...
It's not very much fun over the
long haul...
People become "burned out."
Within law firms and corporate legal
departments, the we-are-at-war attitude tends to dominate, and the number of burned-out,
disenfranchised lawyers in our society reflects the price in terms of human
casualties. However, the law offices and courtrooms are the advanced
battlegrounds. The wars begin within the conventional dynamics of Business-As-War. Even deeper, it begins with each
individual’s struggle for personal identity … for one’s raison d'être.
There's a message in ageless story of Citizen
Kane, and the meaning of "Rosebud." When your life is
ending... what remembrance will be the last to emanate from your heart?
Business-As-Relationships
Even
the most successful, multi-$ billion companies are learning that they can't be
all things to all potential customers.
Customers are demanding more and more
personalized and customized products and services.
Businesses and professionals are seeing more
and more lost opportunities because they can't respond to individualized customer needs.
Business people and professionals are
looking for new ideas, solutions, guidance, and coaching.
Partnering with others in running a
business or a profession is desirable, if not an absolute necessity for
survival, much more so as the business grows and its offerings become more
comprehensive.
Consequently, plenty of books have been
written about the compelling need for businesses to not only become partners...
but to also be virtual and agile as
well. These are words that have become part of new
business jargon.
However,
the concepts behind the words are easy to understand. At the very
core, it simply boils down to an awareness that:
Business-Is-Relationships
Questions:
Do people and companies with whom you
wish to establish short- or long-term relationships perceive you as a Partner-of-Choice™?
Do you have any idea how you’ll achieve
that objective?
Partners-of-Choice Return to Home Page
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