Embrace your humanness
Human beings are social creatures who many years ago depended on that socialization for survival. Say what you like about machines, processes and institutions, humans enjoy the company of others. Over the last few decades, we have tried to mitigate that basic need and now oddly enough, it is technology that brings socializing back into our lives.
Wonder why video games sales are down? Relationships would be a candidate for contributing to slower game sales. Conversations have become entertainment over the Internet and our ability to generate our own media has grabbed our collective attention right now. Were video games just pacifying us until we figured these social media sites out? Instead of spending three hours playing a video game, a teenager may spend an hour on games talking to other players on a headset, an hour watching video on Hulu and an hour talking to friends over Facebook. In other words, it's not that video games are gone, their place has been redefined in the realm of socializing.
The Impact on Business
We are all in the relationship business and it's time we embrace this fact. In an era that lacks authenticity, it's trusted relationships that hold high value. I'm sure there is a product company out there that disagrees with me but they are on the wrong side of future co-design of new products. The barriers that used to exist that sat between manufacturers and the buyer are breaking down. Social media is giving them the ability to voice their opinion of the provider to the world. Strengthening those relationships will be critical to help close the cycle on use, research and reputation.
Trusted relationships make a business strong
Companies will make mistakes in their business relationships. Like a bank account, companies will make deposits and withdrawals with our relationships. As long as we are putting more in than we are taking out, we'll stay in the black. But when a company stops paying attention to a client and hasn't added value in a while, the relationship balance starts to look vulnerable. That's when buyers leave quietly for someone who is more interested in the relationship.
The opposite of that is tremendous. When we constantly add to the relationship and ask little in return, the bank account is very full. When we have something to offer the buyer, the trust is very high so price is less of a priority. The relationship has moved into the area of trusted partner and the buyer knows it would be difficult to replace the partner.
How to operate from a position of wealth
It won't be about having more money than you need when you die. If a person believes that, the cosmic joke is going to be on them. We recently witnessed how vulnerable we can be when financial wealth is our primary goal in life. It's not as secure as we led ourselves to believe. True wealth will be about having high quality relationships and friendships that decorate our professional and personal lives. Building great relationships won't happen overnight and it takes work to keep a fire under them. But if you really think about it, what else should we be doing in business and in life?
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