A loyal business partner or employee, same difference, as every employee is in fact dependent upon the success of a business.
That is my simple and up front logic behind the title of this post.
Many people may look at and approach business in many different ways, to me no matter what it is that I am doing I tend to rely upon some very humane aspects. Not only the "Money". What I mean by this is that money may be the goal and as we go forwards with achieving this goal we have to share our experiences and our trust with others. No matter whether that be a "partner", "subcontractor" or "employee".
One of the most important things (to me that is) that people in business need to comprehend is that we are PEOPLE, we are not dollars, we are not figures, statistics or numbers. We are not teller machines, we are not robots we are all people, nothing more and nothing less than that.
So when doing business with someone, whether it be a partner or an employee, the most important thing to ensure is that we all treat each other as people.
To me personally loyalty to one another in business is the one and only key factor that assures a sound foundation to doing business.
Imagine what happens to a business venture if there is a lack of loyalty!
Loyalty as such is not "obedience".
This I say more so in respect to the role of an employee. A loyal employee who understands that his earnings are based upon the success of the business and that their role in the business has a market value which needs to be "earned" shall always keep the best interest of the business in mind. This may at times result in employer/employee conversations where the employee expresses their concerns, ideas, suggestions and sometimes outright disagreements with what an employer says.
WHY?
Well, it is called INTEGRITY.
Loyalty at all levels of business relations is expressed exclusively through integrity.
Honesty and an open relationship among all involved is the only way to ensure that a business can thrive.
Again, "greed" could end up being a catalyst that pushes some people over to "the dark side" and who could end up costing everyone involved very dearly.
Lets face reality and accept that "greed" is something that has resulted in a lot of pain and heartache many a time throughout the pages of history. Again, it is only human that some people sell out!
Loyal people in business share their expertise, there is no "I" in the word "TEAM". Loyal people do not look upon other members within a business as "competitors" but rather as equals, as PEOPLE!
Sharing expertise is in fact expanding the trust between people, it builds upon the foundation called LOYALTY and trusting each others INTEGRITY.
This doesn't mean that when there is a team that there are no internal conflicts among people, hell, it would be pure bliss to be able to find a work place in which everyone was tripping with happyness all the time every day 365 days per year!
Again, the loyalty factor comes in, when people who are loyal to one another jump in and help resolve these conflicts, the integrity that these people showed to date is a foundation upon which and misunderstandings and conflicts can be put behind us and the business goals can be once gain put into the main focus of things.
What does this do, this loyalty to one another as people, this integrity and honesty among people who are involved in a business?
It first and foremost boosts morale!
How wonderful it is to know that you can place your trust into persons who are definitely loyal, open and honest with you. No matter whether that person be a boss or colleague.
This is what I personally consider to be the most important aspect of a successful business. The loyalty proven through integrity among the people in a business.
It is a two way street, sometimes I guess many of us when doing business do not see what others see, after all we are all individuals and we all approach things differently. However, if we realize that in business there has to be trust among people who are working together, then we understand that this trust no matter how "blind" it may seem to be at times is based on integrity, if it isn't then there isn't trust there, but rather a bare necessity of cohesion so as to get the job done day by day until the first opportunity that opens up somewhere else and off goes a person who could be looking for what I have described earlier on in this post. Or it could be "greed", or it could be a lack of loyalty. What ever the case this person is gone and no one will ever know the exact reasons.
Could be that there was no opportunity to be appreciated, no room for enrichment, no opportunity to get respect and be awarded for ones achievements as a loyal, honest and worthy person within a business. Who knows.... the person is gone!
As you have read so far, I do not wish to enter the blood bath tactics of money hungry people out there. Wham, bam, thank you mam, types of approaches in life do not interest me, they in fact in my eyes are short bursts of lust in a cesspool full of gold diggers and those who would sell out everyone for a fist full of dollars.
Yes, I am very aware of the fact that those types of people do exist and that they can pretend to be anything just to achieve their short term goals. Yes i am aware that these people do not care for anyone or anything as long as there is a instant profit for them in it. Yes, this is a part of our reality.
Rarely can we achieve a team of people who are loyal to the business without having individual cases of "greed" show up and potentially ruin it for everyone involved. However if the majority of people involved are loyal to the business and keep moving forwards together as a team, much like what a priest says at a wedding ceremony "for better, for worse" meaning in the good and the bad times that a business venture goes through, the team can and should survive. This is a direct result of the loyalty proven through integrity that I described earlier on.
I guess, that some days depending on what I have done and gone through get me thinking about things that I write about here. When I write things like this I am sharing a part of me with everyone who reads this. Yes, a part of me, the person who has been shaped and moulded through various life experiences. A person who is far from "perfect" in any way manner or form, yet who tries to be the best that he can. A person who shall do his best and succeed, who shall fall over, stumble along the way and possibly feel like a failure, yet get back up and try to fix it and keep moving forwards towards the set goals.
Personally, loyalty means a lot to me. As you have gathered from this post. Not "obedience", but loyalty in the true essence and meaning of this word. Loyalty that is a two way street.
No matter how many times a person stumbles, if they remain loyal, they are what once upon a time was considered to be noble!
Not as easy or as nice as it sounds! Life is definitely no fairy tale.
Enough for one day, at least enough from me. A year ago it was unimaginable that I write anything as open as this anywhere, yet here I am, openly sharing what is in this mind of mine. Sharing my being with you the person reading this post.
Thanks for your time and no matter whether you agree or disagree with my line of thoughts on this topic, which is not only about business, but also about all us people, I hope that maybe you can see things the way I see them and better understand me as a person and better comprehend my approach to doing business and working with people.
Steem on!
Jack
