FIVE FACTS OF LIFE THAT MATTER IN BUSINESS

5 Simple Business Truths From Mom

Essential lessons about life turned out to be lessons for business.

By Paul Spiegelman |  @paulspiegelman| Feb 8, 2012

In my speaking engagements, I often get asked how I decided to focus on culture and employee engagement as the most important drivers for my business.  Did some event trigger this approach?  Did I work somewhere else and then decide that this is the way I wanted to do business?  The answer is neither.  Beryl has been my only gig (at least for the last 27 years).  I guess I just didn’t know any better.

The credit goes to my mom and dad.

My parents are terrific people who managed to keep three boys from killing each other in a very rambunctious household. And while we may have battled as youngsters, the unifying values my parents instilled in us enabled my brothers and I to all go into business together and build a successful enterprise.  I’m the only one still involved in the business, but the key principles remain the same.

Since we knew little to nothing about running a business and had no real professional experience, we decided to build our company on what we did know…and that is directly related to how we were brought up. And like many parents out there, ours had a few go-to sayings that ended up well beyond the Spiegelman house and directly in the culture of our business. Here are some of my favorites and why they’ll be important to your success.

1. “Always Be Nice”

It seems so simple, but I’ll never forget my dad telling me that.  When I was a child and my dad would run into an old business colleague, that person would pull me aside and tell me that my dad was one of the nicest people he had ever met.  I always hoped people would say that about me one day. (And I’m still working on it.) Being nice and having kindness in your heart will get you through almost any situation.

2. “Listen”

Stop telling people what you can do for them and listen to what they’re saying they need from you. You can’t learn what your customer needs (and what they will buy from you) if you’re too busy talking about what you can give them.

3. “Eat Your Vegetables”

The same way it’s good for you to plow through your vegetables as a kid, you’ll find enormous benefits in reading to improve your business. Even the artichokes of business books. You can never read too much.

4. “Stop Picking Your Nose”

Be aware how you conduct yourself out in the world. People are watching you and your business. And not only should you avoid them catching you doing something questionable, don’t do that questionable thing in the first place.

Continue reading this article at INC.com after the break!