Doing Business as UN-usual…
What happened to the days of strong personal connections, friendly support, genuine customer service, quality, dependable follow-through, loyalty in customers and vendors? Have outside economic pressures caused greed and fear to take over, or have the symptoms above created the current economic situation?
I am lucky… or, you can say that I “created” a comfortable life and business situation for myself. I live in a gorgeous area of the planet, in the forest close to several small towns but within two hours of four major metropolitan areas. I have peace and beauty all around me that I can share with my clients and vendors. When I do my local errands I rarely encounter traffic, road rage, or the negative emotions and stress found elsewhere. I intended this in my life, and here I am living it now! Peace of mind and comfort is so important to me now!
What bothers me at this point are some of the wonderful people I am watching who are changing in ways that are placing stress on our working relationship and their relationships with others. There are many creative and talented people offering important products and services to others. As we all evolve and improve our products and services are we keeping the human-to-human aspect in sight? Or, are we focused on the time, money, final business results, and packing as many clients into a short time period as possible?
There seems to be so much pressure to succeed monetarily, grow marketing lists, and compete, that some providers are literally dropping their loyal customers or vendors and opting for the “bigger fish” who can bring them more revenue in a shorter period of time, for less work. I’m all for “working smarter – not harder”, and, at the same time I also endorse balance and the concept of living consciously.
Many of the systems being touted in our banking industry and on internet are “artificial”. Money on paper is not the same as money in one’s pocket. “Friends” and “followers” on social networking sites may not be there for you when you really need a caring human nearby. Numbers on a marketing list are not equal to loyal customers. E-mail marketing blasts do not include the same energy as intentional human-to-human marketing connections. Things have changed, and sometimes I’m not so sure they have changed for the better!
