CHAPTER 11

Business Is Business

Eat and drink with your relatives;
do business with strangers.
—GREEK PROVERB

You have been invited to a business lunch at one of the best restaurants in town. Upper management will be there, an important client will be there, and many of your peers will attend.

As you enter the restaurant, you are immediately greeted with honor by the establishment’s staff, and you are led to the table. This is a rare event indeed. The elegance and ambiance of this restaurant surpass the typical dining spots you frequent. There are more glasses and utensils by your charger plate than you use in a week. You attempt to look refined and select your seat as those around do so as well.

A well-dressed host grabs your napkin and folds it into a triangle and lays it in your lap. In the same smooth motion, he graciously offers you the menu. You glance around at the attendees to make sure your manners are consistent with theirs. Opening the menu, you see delicacies that you have longed to try. There listed within the beef selections is tenderloin of Kobe beef. Options from the sea include lobster tail fresh from Maine. The international section recommends the lamb flown in from New Zealand.

This indeed is your day! Now you get to live like the “others” do. It’s your rare opportunity to dine like a king without the associated king’s ransom. Suddenly you feel someone standing over your shoulder. It is the table attendant, there to take your order. “Oh, why not,” you say to yourself. “Yes, I will take the …”

*     *     *

Your organization’s annual holiday celebration is taking place in a fabulous ballroom of a five-star hotel. There will be a live band, your friends, and an elaborate buffet. Oh, and there will be an open and fully stocked bar.

You arrive with great expectation. You are dressed as if the red carpet were your runway! The evening proceeds spectacularly. Upper management is there, and you have the opportunity to visit with them and their spouses. Some even call you by name. You, my friend, are moving up. You engage the attendees, hang out with your friends, and exchange holiday pleasantries.

Over the speaker system there is a strange tapping followed by an electronic squeal. You turn to see the company president standing at a microphone. The president thanks everyone for attending and then reports that the company has had record profits. Everyone will be receiving a 10 percent end-of-year bonus! The crowd erupts with celebration. With that, the president exits the stage and returns to the crowd. You turn to your friends and extend your hand for the high-five slap … PARTEEEE TIME! You have earned this celebration. The open bar means FREE beverages, and now the real celebration can begin … because free is good!

After an hour or so, you have visited the bartender multiple times. The friends at your table seem to be laughing at you, but you are not sure why. It suddenly dawns on you. There are some things you have wanted to say and scores to settle with some of your fellow employees. Somehow this seems like the right time. You even have a couple of ideas to float by upper management. Grabbing your near-empty glass you swerve toward …

*     *     *

Business is business.

Webster’s dictionary defines business as “the buying and selling of commodities and services and connotes a profit motive.”¹

The simple truth is, businesses that are not successful do not remain businesses for long. A successful business must meet a need and deliver products or services, whatever they may be, profitably. When entrepreneurs, business owners, or managers look to hire people to assist with the products or services associated with that business, they are hoping to find people who will assist in the success of the company, not the demise.

Webster’s dictionary describes an employee as a person hired to work for wages or salary. Simply a worker who is hired to perform a job.²

So let the mistrust begin.

Most of your fellow employees do not share the company’s goals, brand, or even the desire for the company’s ultimate success. They probably don’t invest their energy understanding the vision, the objectives, or the multiyear plan of the organization.

Many do not consider that their actions, habits, and activities affect the overall financial success of the organization. They consider their positions as a daily drudgery rather than as a lasting opportunity. Most of them feel entitled rather than appreciative for their position. Almost all employees feel undervalued.

Do some employers disrespect, mistreat, exploit, and underappreciate their employees? Absolutely! But consider the U.S. Department of Commerce’s statistics suggesting that over 75 percent of employees steal from their employers.³ So businesses have learned to watch and expect that those they hire may not have the best intentions.

This is great news for you! All those people around you may not have the best intent or be giving their best effort to the business at hand.

Instead of considering yourself an employee, what if you considered yourself an ambassador of your employer? Webster’s dictionary defines ambassador as “a person skilled in dealing with other people; tactful person.”⁴ A diplomatic agent is considered of high rank and ability.

What if you considered yourself as a diplomat for your organization of the highest rank? What if you performed your tasks as if you represented the brand, the strategies, and the financially profitable goals of your employer? The title on your business card may not immediately reflect any change. The numbers on your paycheck may not increase in the short term. But do you think it would help you become indispensable? Of course it would.

So how do you go from employee to ambassador? Here are some ideas.

A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE

You may think your employer, circumstances, and pressures are holding you back. You may think the entire world is against you. And if you believe this is so, then you are right. You are right because the most important, the most influential, the most crucial person in your path has been convinced. That would be you.

You are in charge of your future. Yes, there are obstacles, troubles, hurdles, concerns, illnesses, and hardships, both today and in the future. And as long as you draw breath, there are solutions, actions, activities, efforts, plans, and strategies that you can deploy to defeat those issues. You can wake up angry at the day, or you can wake up feeling blessed and happy. You can feel discouraged, or you can take action. You can feel everyone is against you, or you can feel determined to overcome. You can droop your shoulders like a victim, or you can swagger like a victor.

It is easier to feel afraid than courageous. It is easier to quit than fight on. It is easier to blame others rather than ourselves. Remember, the easy way out does not often end in celebration, recognition, or reward. Where you are today has no authority over where you could be in the future.

Your attitude is a magnet. You attract others who have the same attitudes.

Positive attitudes make us happier, more productive, and more successful—few people would disagree. Then, why would anyone in the world choose negativism—a self-inflicted wound—and all the ramifications that come along with that choice? Why would people choose to hurt themselves by being negative? Maybe they choose to be negative because they don’t realize they have the power to be positive … or perhaps they enjoy feeling sorry for themselves … or it is more difficult to be positive.

I think it is because negative attitudes are a natural response … and some people enjoy it. They say they are being “realistic,” which in most cases means exposing the negative and cynical response to a situation … refusing to even acknowledge the “just as realistic” positive response.

The Indispensable people choose not to inflict the poison of negative attitudes on themselves. Instead, they choose to be positive and enthusiastic. They add energy to those around them. Negative and cynical people zap the energy from those around them.

When was the last time you knew a successful person who people consistently described as “negative” and “cynical”? In my years of experience, I cannot name one successful person described that way. Not one.

Coincidental? I don’t think so. Optimism and enthusiasm are two traits that you will find in the best employees and leaders, regardless of industry, profession, or age.

The power of enthusiasm is evidenced by the effect it has on other people. We have all witnessed the enthusiastic school kids selling candy door-to-door. They are enthusiastic because they are confident in themselves, love their product, and enjoy achieving a goal. We are happy to buy from them.

We have also witnessed kids who are trying to sell candy just because that is what they have to do. There is no passion, enthusiasm, or energy. The candy is the same, the customers are the same, yet the sales are not even close. The missing ingredient is enthusiasm.

Real enthusiasm and a positive attitude are not things you put on or take off to fit the occasion or to impress people. Real enthusiasm is a way of life. Yet many people allow conditions to control their attitude rather than allowing their attitude to help control conditions.

A positive attitude is at least as important as how we dress, look, hone our skills, or add to our education, and it is at least as important as how gifted we think we are. You control your attitude. Make sure it is worth catching.

BECOME A MENTOR AND TEACHER

There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “If you continually give, you will continually have.” We all know that the more you give, the more you will receive, but that is not the reason you give. You give so that you will have more opportunities to give. And, you will ultimately receive what you have given. Let that soak in—you will ultimately receive what you have given. If you give encouragement, help, hope, knowledge, and support, you will ultimately receive encouragement, help, hope, knowledge, and support when you need it. If you give hate, fear, doubt, harsh criticism, then when you need help, there will not be many, if any, people in line to lend a hand. You will get what you have given.

Not long ago, I heard of a man who lost his home in a fire. Everything was gone up in smoke in minutes. It was devastating … years of possessions destroyed. When asked about the fire, he said that what he came to realize was that the things he had given away were still available to him while the things he had held on to were gone forever. What a great life lesson. What you give away, you will always have access to. What you keep, you can lose within minutes.

The Indispensable person gives away knowledge by sharing it with others. As a side benefit, the more you teach, the more committed you become to what you are teaching. Find people who are interested in your field of expertise, and teach them how to become better. And as you teach others, you will be able to hone and update your skills. Give your knowledge away, and you will become more knowledgeable!

Focus on displaying cheerfulness, cooperation, gratitude, and eagerness. Smile at people! Tell people they had a good idea. Tell people you appreciate them. Make others feel valuable, regardless of who they are, what they do, or what their status is. Acknowledge them for their value to the organization. In a world of stone-faced, grumpy, bored, zombiefied people, you will stand out. Give it a try!

If you accept your self-appointed new role and title as Ambassador at the Highest Rank, your views and actions will change. Even more, other people’s view of you will change.

BUSINESS MEALS ARE ABOUT BUSINESS, NOT ABOUT EATING

There are occasions when you may find yourself as a participant in a business outing that includes a lunch or dinner. The meal may include customers, potential clients, coworkers, and/or managers. It could be a celebration, an ongoing negotiation, or a chance to work out some issues. Whichever the restaurant, whatever the delicacies served, and even if the chef is of great renown, the last thing you need to do is to consider it lunch or dinner. You need to think business first!

While dining with business associates, use all the manners you have been taught, and if you are unsure of anything, mirror someone you consider more experienced. General rules are forks to the left, knives to the right, dessert cutlery at the top, bread and butter plate top left, glasses to the top right. Place your napkin folded triangularly (keeps it more secure) in your lap, keep your elbows off the table, and never be the first to begin eating.

When the menu arrives, check with others for a recommendation and what they are planning to order. Try not to be the first to order. Should the waiter ask you first, you could say that you have not decided and suggest he begin with another guest. The reason is that you do not want to order the filet if everyone else is having chicken salad. You want to order a meal that is comparable to what the others at the table are ordering.

Try to abstain from any food that could create a splash. This would include foods like spaghetti, ribs, and anything you have to open or shell. Beware of small tomatoes, which could spew juice. Stay away from foods you eat with your hands.

Consider the risk of ordering green. Of course your mother spent years telling you to eat green vegetables. But what if you are involved in an important conversation during dinner, unaware that your fellow guests are wondering whether to mention the spinach lodged between your teeth.

Slow down. Never begin eating until all of the guests at your table have received their servings. Pace yourself … don’t be the first finished.

Business meals are not always about discussing business. However, treat every business meal as business—everything counts.

OFFICE PARTIES

Understand that office parties, even those after hours, are really still business functions.

Yes, indeed, HR rules are still in force, management hierarchy is still in order, and your reputation can still be tainted. The open bar may offer you $50 of free beverages and $1,000s less in potential income, should you lose your decorum. Your future and business reputation are better served by keeping your party animal caged during a business affair. Any actions, discussions, and/or confrontations while adult beverages are being served could lead to undesired HR interaction.

REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE COMPLAINERS

You know who they are. They hang together, go on break together, and spew it out together. They complain, they degrade, they gossip, they accuse, they tear down, they dislike, and they feel like “corporate and/or the world” are all against them.

Don’t participate. Run!

Your organization may have problems—name one that doesn’t. It may need changes in management, policies, brand, compensation, and procedures, and it may have a variety of issues. But what positive actions will be deployed from a group of employees whose favorite pastime is to complain and gossip about others? What will happen is that you will be identified as someone who participates in, agrees with, and cooperates with negative sentiment. Others in your company may choose not to trust you because they KNOW about that group of complainers.

Tell me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.
—ASSYRIAN PROVERB

Refuse to degrade anything or anyone in such a forum. Strive toward positive change. If there are issues in your company that need improvement, work through proper channels to address change. If there are misconceptions between departments, suggest interaction and discussion between those groups to problem-solve rather than amplify.

BE CONSCIENTIOUS WITH TIME

Get to work early enough to be ready to begin on time. Yes, there may be traffic issues and other unforeseen obstacles that may result in occasional tardiness. But being late every day due to associated issues is not really a valid excuse. It means you are leaving home too late.

It is one thing to show up on time. It is another to have your game face on and be ready to go! However much time, chatter, or coffee it takes, be ready to face it all as an ambassador when the workday begins!

WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH

It is easy to become cynical and skeptical … especially when things get tough. In fact, most people are that way. The Indispensable person understands that things are not always the way they should be. But he or she also has the courage to do something to improve the here and now.

I once knew an elderly lady whom I consider to be the wisest and most positive person I have ever known. She did not have much money, or formal education, nor did she work outside the home. Yet she had earned a PhD in common sense and wisdom.

She loved to teach her children, grandchildren, and the neighborhood kids life’s principles by telling stories. One thing that would drive her a little crazy was how some people chose to see nothing but problems. They were blinded by their own issues in life, and they loved to tell others how miserable they were. She would tire quickly of listening to what she called their “bellyaching.”

One of the nuggets of wisdom from this old friend that I will always remember is how to face problems and be positive, no matter what the situation.

She loved to tell the story of how a particular group of people would line up along the perimeter of a field about the size of a football field. While standing on the outskirts of the field, everyone would be given the opportunity to throw their problems onto the middle of the field. Once all the problems had been thrown and were covering the field, the people standing around the field would be given the chance to choose which ones to pick up and take home.

Most people would probably pick up their own problems and go back home, realizing that they really do not have it that bad.

You know, I think that she’s right on the money with this story. So much of life is about how we handle what life throws our way. The Indispensable person knows that life is good—even when a situation appears to be the worst. But he or she also knows how to help make another’s life better.

Take Action

• Every meal is business. Every open bar is business. Wherever you are, you have the opportunity to demonstrate that you are different—you are Indispensable!

• Even when you are having a bad day, you can be a positive person at work.

• Smile—every chance you get.

• Greet others with eagerness and friendliness.

• Your attitude is contagious and attracts others like a magnet.

• Stay away from negative groups and people. Don’t let them drag you down.

The Indispensable person recognizes that no matter the occasion, business is business.