I saw a great bumper sticker on my way home from the gym that said “Nature Bats Last.”
For those of you who are not baseball knowledgable, this metaphor is relating nature to the home team in a baseball game. No matter how well you are doing in a baseball game, the home team has the final chance to bat and therefore, in theory, they always have a chance to win regardless of how far you are ahead. I further read this as nature will get the last word and win. No matter what you do to nature it will react over time in a way that will be best for nature regardless of how it comes out for you. Nature wins every time in one way or another, eventually.
So how does this relate to anything business wise? A plethora of ways my friends…a plethora of ways. For now though, lets just talk about treating people right. In my opinion, the best thing you can do for the sake of your long term success is to be known as a person who is nice, trustworthy and competent. And really, competent, which comes in time, is irrelevant if you are not nice and trustworthy. If people don’t like you and/or trust you, your competence won’t matter because people will not want to do business with you.
the best thing you can do for the sake of your long term success is to be known as a person who is nice, trustworthy and competent.
Every one you ever speak to, you must assume they will have the last word. That they bat last. For every action there is a reaction. I know you can think to yourself that you also could have the last word…but doing good business isn’t about you, ultimately,…it’s about others and how you can help and serve them. If you treat people poorly or you pressure them, they will say no to your offer now and forever, but THAT won’t be the last word. The last word will go on and on as they influence others not to do business with you. Remember, negative impressions are lasting and people tend to talk about them easily.
Remember, negative impressions are lasting and people tend to talk about them easily.
On the other hand, if you treat people the proper way through the process, even if they say no to you now it is really a “not yet.” More importantly, they will have a high regard for you and will speak positively in the community. They won’t be proactive about sharing how good you are, but when your name comes up because someone is talking to you, they will mention that you are a good person.
The wonderful thing about our business is that you can always bat last in terms of taking action, because you can always appraoch another person. You can assure that you will win because you are ALWAYS at bat! But with each person you speak to, remember, they get the last word, so treat them well and keep batting.
