One of the many reasons I re-post Seth Godin’s blogs is because I align with the way the man thinks. I have reposted his entire blog on the subject of Rights and Responsibilities, yet his closing line once again hits square on all corners of the ever evolving definition of business success:
“If your success depends on sickening the poorest and least educated portion of your customer base (and the ones that buy the most from you), it’s time to redefine success.”
I know this piece struck me because I continue to observe the negative effects of poor business practices within a business community I once owned a hotel in. You can get the feel of what is going on there by reading my post Be Careful What You Wish For.
What I enjoy about Seth’s post is that it focuses on a simple challenge I was taught not so many years ago. The challenge was: Speak in a way that I never use shame, blame or rationalization to explain anything. Now read Seth’s
Rights and responsibilities
Robert Bookman from the restaurant industry was quoted as saying that it would violate the free speech rights of restaurant owners if they had to post a health department grade of their cleanliness in the window.
More and more, businesses and businesspeople talk about their rights.
It seems, though, that organizations and individuals that focus more on their responsibilities and less on their rights tend to outperform.
You’re responsible to your community, to your customers, to your employees and to your art. Serve them and the rights thing tends to take care of itself.
Another thought: If I worked at Pepsi, I’d be actively lobbying for the obesity sweet soda tax (a penny an ounce) being proposed in New York. Instead, in a no-surprise knee jerk reaction, almost everyone in the industry is lobbying like crazy to stop it. This is dumb marketing.
The benefit of a tax is that it affects you and your competitors at the same time, so you all benefit from doing the right thing, as opposed to having to compete against someone who doesn’t care as much as you do.
Once people realize that excessive use of your product makes them sick and then die a long and painful death, it’s probably time to stop lobbying and time to start doing something about it. This industry should stop thinking it is in the corn syrup delivery business (which brings nasty side effects along with it) and start focusing on delivering joy in a bottle. Lots of interesting ways to do that without giving up profits.
If your success depends on sickening the poorest and least educated portion of your customer base (and the ones that buy the most from you), it’s time to redefine success.
Thank you,
Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success™
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
http://www.YouTube.com/user/ServingSuccess
www.facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD
