The Extra Mile (It's not a requirement)

"Going the extra mile". We've all heard this phrase many times probably without understanding where it originally came from. So, without further delay, allow me to provide a small history lesson gathered from the cobwebs of my brain (and Google).

During the times of the Roman Empire, there was a law that allowed Roman soldiers the right to force Jews to carry their heavy packs for a mile. The law was very specific though, it was only for one mile. The soldier would actually get into trouble for making a Jew carry their pack for a greater distance than was permitted. So Jesus, in his infinite wisdom, told his followers that if they were made to carry a Roman soldiers' pack for one mile, that they should not drop the load at the mile marker- but keep going. This accomplished two things. It first made the soldier uncomfortable because someone was doing more than was expected from them. It was truly an expression of freedom. And secondly, it was a clever way of potentially getting that soldier in hot water with his superiors for seemingly breaking the law. Pretty interesting hunh?

Fast forward a couple thousand years and now we have this saying, "Go the extra mile." We may not know the meaning but the addition of the word "extra" seems to imply that it's not compulsory. No one is going to make you do it. And going one step further, no one is going to expect you to do it and they certainly won't hold you accountable for NOT doing it.

And that, my friends, is the key to it all.

I recently talked about a guy named Jay Abraham, a marketing genius. Jay talks about the difference between a client and a customer. A customer is someone who purchases a product or service from you. A client  is someone under your protection.

Read that again.

What this means is that when you have customers your responsibility is pretty much complete at the point of transaction. "You have a product, I have your money - hope your happy." In other words, I walked the one mile that I was compelled to walk.

But when you have clients, your responsibility for their well-being is never over. Not even after the transaction is completed. Hmm, this sounds a lot like an extra mile. Or two extra miles. Perhaps three.

The point is, when you have clients you have the responsibility to protect them; to care for them; to watch over them. And maybe even when doing so is outside the normal scope of your normal products or services.

No one is going to make you walk the extra mile, that's the point. But if you decide to walk it, you'll have a client for life.

Caveman drawings, a Business How-To

Welcome to another installation of "Caveman Drawings - a Business How-To"

This particular drawing describes early business. Actually, it describes late business and every other business come to think of it...Let me explain.

A person (Owner) starts a business - this could be your local dry cleaner or Ford. A real, live person started each of those businesses. And one of their primary goals for starting this business was to sell a Thing (a product or a service) to another person (Client) in exchange for money (the Transaction).

This is how business has been done forever. And over the past 80 years (or so) the focus has been on the part in the middle - the Transaction.

The Owner wanted to make more money by selling more Things to the Client so they tried to make the Things cheaper and sell them for more. So they might manufacture their Things in China to save on costs. Or maybe they tried to make a winning TV commercial that would sell a lot more Things and gain them more money in the process. Regardless of what they did, the focus was always on the Transaction, or trying to exchange more Things for more money. Sometimes the Owner would hire a Business Consultant to help him figure out how to produce more money from the Transaction. They would tweak pricing, and run new advertising, and squeeze their vendors, and poke and prod every cranny of that Transaction to see where it would yield more money.

And it's worked okay. Lots of Owners have made lots of money and continue to do so. And if that is their definition of success then Hooray - they've been successful. Doesn't matter if anyone else was successful in the process (such as the Client...) but they were, so who cares?

But contrast with the concept of nobility, of honor. Can you find those things in this "Transaction"? I can't.

What happened to the days when Owners built relationship with their Clients and that trust was sealed with a handshake and with a word that would not be broken? Seems to be a relic of the past. Kind of like treacherously tall metal playground slides - but that's the topic for another time...

If you take a look back at the Caveman drawing above you'll see that the Transaction is in the middle of two people - the Owner and the Client. It's not more important than those two, it just resides in the middle. It's the method that these two people transact value with each other.

I've come to the realization that the best, most honorable business Owner knows why they are in business and it has nothing to do with just making money. There is another reason. And I've seen how when an Owner becomes Client-focused instead of Transaction-focused, that nobility, sustainability, reputation, referrals, loyalty, and yes profit, are produced in truckloads.

This is why my business consulting doesn't exalt the Transaction over the people...I believe this:
The Owner needs to get clear on their Why...
The Transaction needs to run smoothly and communicate effectively...
The Client needs to be valued and respected...

I've said this before, we all get one shot at this thing called life. Just one.

Stop asking, "How can I help?"

 You think it's enough. It's not.

You think it's helping. It isn't.

You think it's adequate. It may just be.

But hear this and and hear it well, adequate doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

When you ask, "How can I help?" you're placing the burden of responsibility on the shoulders of the person you're supposed to be serving.

I'm going to make two shocking presuppositions:

1. They probably don't (really) know what they want
2. You're the expert at whatever your business is so you should act like it

Now there is a potential problem associated with my #2 presupposition - the one about you being an expert. You might not be one...

But I have the solution.

I hereby, under the rights and authority granted to me as the Architect of "Wow!" bestow upon you the designation, privelege, and all associated responsibilities to start acting like the expert that you will soon be if you are not already.

Now go and be mediocre no more.

And instead of asking, "How can I help?" Try saying this, "I think I can help, how about this...?" Could be a steak, could be a shirt, could be a house, could be a job, could be whatever you're in the business of.

Stop asking and start suggesting. Actually, start leading. Start taking the responsibility to serve your clients.

I, for one, love it when I come across someone that is confident without being pushy and leads me in a sales process that respects me and understands me. It's pretty refreshing to be led by an expert rather than pestered by a yahoo.

Who better than you and what better time than now?