It is doubtful that anyone in their personal or professional lives will dispute that there comes a time when they need a little (or a lot) of guidance and advice. In many cases it is not a matter of “if you do”, but rather one of “acceptance”. Acceptance on two levels: 1) accepting the fact that someone else’s opinion or advice might be valuable and, 2) accepting the advice given. To some extent we are all guided by what we see and hear and how we assimilate that information into our actions. However the outcome of that assimilation can vary greatly by the degree to which we are willing to change based on what we see and hear and the extent to which we may seek further direction from others.
These dynamics shape our personalities, our actions and how we grow – ourselves and/or our business. To become individuals and develop individual style, we need to listen to ourselves and act upon our instincts and intuition. But from time to time we also need to listen to what others are telling us and adjust our actions accordingly. This is a delicate balance – too much of either one can result in dysfunction that impacts the individual and those around him/her.
With the recent passing of Steve Jobs we’ve heard a lot about the fact that he trusted his gut and very rarely listened to others. To some extent that is true, to be sure, but in point of fact he was an ardent supporter of customer satisfaction feedback and he monitored customer experience in stores and on-line on a daily basis. A key to garnering more customers is to get current customers to talk favorably about your product. Customer satisfaction and the attention paid to maintain and grow that satisfaction is critical to developing a successful business. Jobs definitely listened.
Ira Waldbaum grew his family grocery store business from a “mom & pop” operation selling produce and grocery staples in a street corner location in Brooklyn, NY to a 2 billion dollar company with 140 stores employing over 7500 people in three states in 1986, when the company was sold to A&P. He was known as a man who adhered to strict ideas of store management and worked on instinct. But a brief excerpt from his obituary in 2002 paints a slightly different picture: “When Brooklyn customers asked for cartons for moving, he asked where they were going. ‘When they mentioned Kew Gardens’, he said, ‘I decided to open a store there.’ “ Ira listened too.
Neither man gave up on their strong adherence to instinct and intuition. However both men realized the needed to listen to others as well.
Achieving the proper balance of self assurance and guidance from others will equip you well for success. Whether it’s in the digital world or the produce aisle, you will sell a lot of apples.
