Mutual Respect Is Essential In Business Relations

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

For whom would you rather work?

(1) Someone who pays well, but who never thanks you for your contributions or constructively acknowledges them: or

(2) For someone who pays less, but is very respectful of your role in the success of the business?

Sometimes, as a consultant, I face this very question. I can invest my time with mean-spirited, miserly folks, who hate crediting other people's contributions, or for those with fewer financial resources, but who are lavish in their praise and appreciation.

Guess whom I choose?

Typically, I'll opt to work with demonstrative types. They are more comfortable to me for a number of reasons:

(1) I don't have to shower after communicating with them! Seriously, the curmudgeonly slime us so much that we need to hose ourselves down, and this is a royal pain.

(2) I don't have to constantly ask myself, "Why am I putting up with them?" when I know the answer: It's the money, dummy. Well, money isn't a sufficient justification.

(3) I hate the feeling that I'm working FOR anybody. With them is fine, and toward a mutually agreed upon goal, is also ok. But I am not an indentured servant; I am a free man, and not just after 5 p.m.

(4) If people don't respect us, how can we respect ourselves when we're in their presence? I think it's very, very difficult to do so, if not impossible.

Happily, there are some organizations that pay well and also show respect, but they seem to be getting more rare with the passage of time.

Know your values, and you won't be conflicted the next time a disrespectful client comes a calling.

You'll know that it's time to swiftly, and politely decline.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.