Business Column By: CEO LaNisha Rene of LR Consulting Enterprise, LLC
As you enter another year with new goals, resolutions, and aspirations’, it’s important to understand your position or “career path,” as many would say, in life. This decision can ultimately be the key to your happiness. However, there are a few rules to the game that can be used to help you move productively along this path. The first major downfall of most business-minded and career driven individuals is the need to be accepted. Maslow’s Hierarchy describes it best as the need to feel love, affection and belongingness, though this is an emotional feeling that is hard to ignore or suppress, it can be detrimental to your business or career objectives.As an Entrepreneur and HR Specialist, past experiences have taught me several lessons about the thin line between business and friendship.
For example, in the Consulting and Public Relations field, knowing the clients personal life, accomplishments, and behaviors’ are important to obtaining desired goals which can ultimately cause you to become involved emotional. In a corporate environment (9 to 5), you want to feel closeness with other employees so you begin to discuss your personal life, their personal life - which is not always a negative thing, this can actually help employees to relate to one another. Nevertheless, if you’re not careful, this personal bond you have created can become a professional headache in most instances. This once positive, friendly bond can turn into a nasty case of Gossip.
When other unknowing employee’s personal lives within a company begin to influence the topics of your conversations, you may want to watch your mouth and your back because I guarantee, not all involved gossiping parties have your best interest in mind. Gossip can also cause an irreversible cycle of rumors whether true or false, we have all been through one or more of these situations in our life at some point. Life as an Entrepreneur identifies certain traits that cause us to make personal and professional mistakes.
No, it’s not just one of your flaws; unfortunately, we as humans tend to make decisions based on our emotional imbalance at that time. The keys to becoming a better career driven individual or a successful entrepreneur are to focus on certain tools, resources, and tricks of the trade that others find beneficial. Here are a few tricks I have found to be helpful; hopefully, they will work for you as well.
Silence is Gold: Most people enjoy fabricating, over doing it, or as many call it, embellishing a little on numerous occasions. This isn’t necessary EVER! If someone ask you a question and you don’t know the answer, your response can save you from embarrassment and being known as a liar. Here is an Example Response: “That’s a great question! Never been asked that before, but I am intrigued to find out for you as well as for myself, that’s an interesting question! Do you have a card or contact information so I can help you figure this answer out?” This response just gained you a direct contact, respect, and of course, a good name.
Leave a Message: If you have a set of business hours or a standard business number, ENFORCE THEM AND DO IT OFTEN! Most clients, mangers, or co-workers have the tendency to call after hours to discuss personal life details that somehow turn into a business conversation every time. It is important to give your mind a mental break from the rampant world of People as I call it. This will also force the other person to understand that business is business and personal is personal without you having to say a word!
That is not my Job: Most of you are saying, “I don’t mind doing additional work for others,” if that’s you, then this paragraph does not apply. However, for those who deal with the harsh reality or thought of “It’s not my responsibility, do I really have to do this?”
Throughout my years of consulting and teaching other entrepreneurs, I have noticed that most small business owners are so elated to get a contract; they forget vital information during the contract approval process. Not defining what your company’s responsibilities are to potential clients is one of the worse mistakes you can make in the world of entrepreneurship.Lacking specific details about any project can lead to a long road of unproductive emails, unwanted conference calls, and unnecessary, redundant meetings. Though this may be a tedious, time-consuming task, if you set the rules and standards of your company’s responsibilities in the beginning, this will be the least of issues encountered as the project moves forward.
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