I love trees and feel blessed to live in a house that
is surrounded by them. Some are huge, majestic and noisy
in wild, wintery weather. Some, like my recently planted
crab apples, seem perilously fragile by comparison and
very dependent on the wooden stakes that support them.
It is autumn (fall) here in the UK and the native deciduous
trees are quickly being stripped of their leaves by high
winds and heavy rain, leaving their stretching forms
silhouetted against the cool, grey skies.
Trees play such a large part in
our lives. On a practical level, they are the lungs
of the earth and they are each
self sustaining eco-systems in their own right. On a
more subtle level, they can be symbolic of many aspects
of human life. I’ve used this idea to map out some
ideas on maintaining sound, sustainable business relationships.
Roots
Groundedness – Ensure that
you feel centred before any business meeting. Take
time out to breathe, stretch,
be in your body before conversations that require you
to contribute or make decisions. Work on methods to keep
your cool and build these into your daily routine.
Trunk
Support – Keep a list of
people in your mutual support network and maintain
regular contact with them.
Make it part of your routine to give to these people.
You can give referrals, tips, a lift in your car, pointers
to useful resources, etc.
Strength – Make maintaining
your health and wellbeing a business priority as well
as a personal one. You cannot
function at your best with others when you are feeling
under the weather.
Uprightness (integrity) – Know
your personal and business values (qualities such as
honesty, fairness,
compassion, simplicity etc). Have these written down
where you can refer to them often and where you can use
them to make decisions.
Branches
Vehicles of communication – Review
how you communicate with clients, colleagues, employees
and associates. Decide
what needs to change, what needs freshening up, what
needs to be stopped.
Flexibility – Make a point
of asking for and listening to new ideas. Respond to
complaints with curiosity and
an open mind. Recognise the gift in the opinions of others.
In particular, think of objections as opportunities to
demonstrate your commitment and improve your service
to others.
Growth – Look at your business relationships as
a reflection on where you need to develop. Particularly
think of the relationships you’re finding challenging.
Make a note of what these tell you about yourself.
Reaching out – Make a note of what you currently
do to “meet people where they are”. Check
up on your clients’, suppliers’ and colleagues’ understanding
of your business purpose. Aim to improve your methods
for educating them on your offering and the benefits
it will give them.
Leaves
Relationship with (sun)light – Ponder
on how you relate to your spiritual nature. Notice
how that shows
up in your business life, if it does at all. Make a point
of using your intuition as well as your knowledge in
your communication with others.
Nourishment – Ensure that you nourish your business
relationships. You can do this by providing encouragement,
practical support for others and inspiration. Remember
also to provide yourself with regular doses of inspirational
material.
Flowers
Beauty – Take some time
to notice what is beautiful about your business and
the people who are involved with
it. Work on those elements that attract most clients
to your business. Notice what keeps them hovering around.
Use those strengths to under-promise and over-deliver.
Gratitude – Make space each day for expressing
your gratitude to those with whom you work. This focuses
people’s attention on their strengths and their
successes and helps them to empower themselves to achieve
even more.
Fruit and Seeds
New life – Get together
with others to start a new project or joint venture
or rejuvenate an old one.
When dealing with others in your profession or trade,
focus on cooperation rather than competition, co-creation
rather than power struggles.
Congratulations! – Celebrate
your successes with those who helped you.
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