This week’s guest post comes from Ron Redman at Redman Training & Development who looks at the impact of the choices we make within our businesses.
Every day we make choices. Some are conscious and some are unconscious but choice is an integral part of our everyday lives. In business, we regularly make choices that determine whether an interaction will be positive or negative and these choices are often influenced by external influences.
For example, how a customer is greeted upon entering your premises can have a massive impact on the rest of their engagement with you and your business. Your staff member’s choice of greeting could be the result of something in their personal life that happened that morning (a difficult commute in heavy traffic, for example, or even something as simple as stubbing a toe).
So, as a business owner, how do you ensure that challenging events or influencing circumstances are not having a ripple effect within your business?
It’s important to recognise that everyone has different levels of resilience and these levels will ebb and flow over time. External influences that are within your business are within your control so it is vital as a business owner to be aware of and address anything within the business environment that could be affecting your staff.
But, equally so, there are personal circumstances that are completely outside your control.
As the person at the top, you have the unique ability to set the tone within your business and lead by example, as well as empower your staff to look at the choices they make and be more conscious of how their choices affect their work environment.
To use the “stubbed toe” example, this painful event can have a ripple effect of focussing on the critical voice inside your head that berates you for your clumsiness. In turn this could lead you to miss a “good morning” from your neighbour or cause you to react negatively within a completely separate situation.
Learning to make choices around where we focus our energy and attention will influence the outcomes we create, both within our work lives and personal lives. As a business owner, helping your staff navigate this learning path can be a hugely beneficial investment in your business as you create not only a more positive work place but a more engaging and constructive experience for customers.
In past workshops, I’ve noticed the topic of choices can be quite challenging as it is often hard for attendees to see past the negative consequences. Making a choice to focus on having a positive interaction, rather than a negative one, is not a skill that everyone is born equipped with. But it is a skill that can be learned and, when reinforced within a business setting, can be a very valuable tool that enhances the customer experience.
Here are some questions to ask yourself about your own reactions and choices:
- Are your choices supportive or disruptive?
- Am I choosing avoidance or procrastination?
- Am I making choices that support a positive outcome for myself and others I come into contact with?
- Am I focussing on what I want, rather than what I don’t want?
At Redman Training & Development, we specialise in creating customised courses and workshops that will teach your management team and staff these vital skills that will ultimately benefit every aspect of your business.
For more information visit redmantd.com.au/
