My grandfather used to always say, “Practice what you preach.” He firmly believed that before you went around telling someone else what to do, you better be doing it yourself. This is good advice for small business owners. How often do you tell your employees or your customers to do something that you know you should do, but don’t actually do yourself?
We’re all guilty of it at one time or another. Parents tell their children to wear a helmet or protective pads that they themselves forgo when they’re riding a bike or rollerblading. The teacher that demonstrates proper handwriting technique but then scribbles notes to her colleagues. We tell others how to eat healthy, while privately indulging in bad choices. We discuss proper skincare, haircare, and more while slacking off in our own lives. Sometimes these are small indiscretions that will little impact, other times they can have serious consequences.
In a business sense, giving advice that you don’t follow yourself can result in you giving your competitors competitive advantage. If you say “spend more on advertising” you better be adequately funding your own marketing campaign. If you advise others to ramp up their online and social media presence, you better already be out there yourself. If someone has come to you asking for ways to improve their business, you should assume that they are going to take your advice and run with it. If you aren’t doing the things that you are suggesting to them, you shouldn’t be surprised when they surpass your success.
If you are telling your employees that you expect certain behavior from them, you need to be setting a good example. If you tell them to arrive at work fifteen minutes before their shift, you should be onsite at least that much ahead of your work time as well. If you are constantly arriving late, taking long lunches and frequent unscheduled breaks you can’t expect them to take you seriously when you say that behavior is unacceptable for employees. Even if they do follow your rules, you can be sure they will resent the fact that you expect more from them than you are willing to put in yourself.
Your customers will also take cues from your behavior. If you want courteous patrons, you need to treat them with courtesy and respect as well. Many reception desks today have signs asking customers to refrain from using cell phones while in the lobby. It’s hard to take that dictate seriously when the receptionist is having a private conversation, ignoring clients herself. Respect has to be a two way street. If you would like to get respect, you need to give it to others.
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The bottom line is that if feel strongly enough about a piece of advice to share it with you others, you should be committed to doing it yourself. We’re always telling you that Stockpile simple quick online inventory solution is the answer to your inventory management woes and we truly believe that. We use Stockpile ourselves, at work and at home. Interested in learning more about all the ways that Stockpile simple quick online inventory solution can help you organize your life? Check back with our previous blogs. Want to see for yourself what a difference it can make? Get Stockpile today!
