better business blog

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Goodwill Counts

12 July 2020

When the wheels of business get a bit squeaky we need to oil them. No harm in that and yet on my travels recently (online of course) I’ve noticed that not everyone agrees.

It seems that a few people are working hard at doing very little. Although there is no harm in that per se, I do wonder that they’re missing an opportunity.

If we oil the wheels with goodwill and give our time generously then people will appreciate us. We have conversations that wouldn’t otherwise have taken place.

If we have enough conversations then things happen. Maybe not right now, but perhaps they sow seeds for future activity.

If we stick rigidly to our business metrics then they can get in the way of goodwill.

If we are measured on output and we don’t have a way to record goodwill then people will default to the measures that their management impose on them.

Goodwill gets pushed to one side, and when that happens we limit our current wheel oiling and put a dent in the creation of new opportunities.

However if we celebrate goodwill and give colleagues the autonomy to act with discretion then customers are kept happy. Conversations happen. New business has a chance to flourish.

I decided to award myself some goodwill last week. I blog every Sunday and as it was my birthday I decided that I could miss a week. I thanked myself for that small act of kindness and drank some sherry instead of writing.

If I had a sherry metric I’d have scored a point and management (me) would have clucked happily at my next appraisal.

Of course, running my own business means I don’t need one. Every day with a client is a form of constant rolling appraisal. Woe to those running their business who forget that.

So, this week let’s give a rousing cheer for goodwill! How much have you and your colleagues put into the world recently? It’s worth totting up!

Keep well!

Next week: How Fatigued Are You?