Each Sunday our goal is to share a piece of gold with you. Some small piece of information that helps you to have a better week and achieve a better outcome. 

Achieving Success! That is what we all want in our business and in our relationships. We want to win!  

The key to building a successful business or a successful relationship is simple to say… but hard to do, especially on a consistent basis. We are often raised to believe that winning is when we negotiate a good deal, we get the best price, or in a relationship we too often believe that it is about keeping score (“I did this, so he or she should do that”).  

However, successful relationships are always a matter of give and take. The objective is to overproduce or provide more value than you receive.  

Let’s walk through some examples:  

  • As an employee, it is the person who overproduces in their role and/or pay who gets promoted.  
  • In business, when a product produces more value (tangibly or through feelings) than the buyer pays for, you will get repeat business and referrals.  
  • In a relationship, giving and focusing on the other person makes them feel special and appreciated, which leads to a strong commitment.  

All businesses must have a constant dialogue with customers to make sure that the products and services are meeting or exceeding the expectations. When you love the product more than the opinion of the customer, problems will follow.  

A few ideas to help with this:  

  • Pick up the phone and call one customer per week and ask them how things are going and what you can do to provide more value.  
  • Set up a customer advisory board that meets quarterly or semi-annually.  
  • Send an annual survey using the Net Promotor methodology (see more here).  
  • Establish a cadence to meet with customers to review past performance and forecast into the future. This should be based on the volume of business that you do with them.  

The truths within our customers’ feedback will fuel all the best conversations and decisions that lead to long-term relationships based on facts. Love the truth, even when you don’t like it!  

The goal of Adapt or Die is to build better leaders who run better companies and change the world. “Better leaders” does not just mean in the office, but at home too. If you’d like a copy of our Perfect Week Template, purchase your copy of Adapt or Die here and then go to adaptordie.com/assets to get started. If you haven’t tried it out yet, I hope you enjoy it and figure out your perfect week!