A few years ago I was on holiday in Cornwall. England and I came across this booth. It was out on the street with lots of goodies for sale. There were, however, no staff just a box where people could deposit their money when they chose to take an item on offer.
In a business world where probably our most expensive resource is our staff, this tactic makes this simple business even more profitable because it does away with the human element. It is even possible to argue that on the odd occasion that someone chooses to steal instead of exchange that the savings regarding “Human hours” still lies in the profitable compared to paying someone to stand there despite the product value lost.
Having an honesty box may not apply to all our businesses, but this concept is discussed by ‘Steven Covey Jr. in ‘The Speed of Trust”. How much quicker things can happen in our life when we are not burdened by doubt or fear that “We ” will suffer as a result of trusting people or relying on people.
Just recently I was let down after I attempted to engage in a business opportunity where I was cut out after initiating the introduction. In a strange turn of fate at least one of these people has come back asking for help. You can only imagine what is going through my mind. Should I bother? Will they let me down again? Did they misunderstand the first scenario because I wasn’t clear and it’s all my fault?
Whatever is going through my mind it has slowed my decision-making process, this delay whether minutes or days could have severe financial implications in the short or long-term for them or me.
I always love the films where the loyal sidekick is 100% convinced of the hero’s innocence no matter what the evidence. And finally, they win the day.
So how do we develop this kind of loyalty, the kind that will allow other people just to know that we are completely reliable?
Just a couple of ideas would be to:
- Surround yourself with the kind of people for whom personal credibility and integrity is important. For some people, it just isn’t in my experience. Imagine if our honesty box were in certain parts of some city’s there maybe no money at all and an empty stand.
- Make sure you do what you say you will do, when and how you say you will do it.
- Honour your word even if you can’t keep it. e.g. If you are running late to an appointment, then call ahead to be polite.
- Think about how your actions are impacting others
- Look to help others and build the good will bank without demanding reciprocity.
- Be aware of when someone is taking advantage of you and move on, there are plenty of good people out there who will appreciate your efforts even if they cannot on the face of it give back, they will at least appreciate it.
- Make sure you communicate anything important clearly and in writing. This reinforcement will help us to maintain trust with the right people where miscommunication may generate distrust.
Have you experienced this kind of situation good or bad? What’s your advise?