As a kid, I always had lots of chores to do. My father was a hard worker, and whether it was projects around the house, helping him in his business, or working on the family farm, my father was determined to make sure that I learned about hard work too. The prevailing rule around our house was that there would be no fun until all the work was done.
At 11 years old I borrowed my father’s lawn mower and started mowing our neighbor’s lawns for 50 cents a lawn (that included trimming along the sidewalk). Nothing ever went right. Most days the old mower would not start, my “friends” who said they would help me would not show up, customers were very demanding, and a few of my customers refused to pay me. On top of all of that, my father would usually make me cut the lawns twice because he did not think I had done a good enough job the first time. Looking back, I think the things that I learned at that time in my life, are the things that have helped me become successful throughout the 60 years that have followed.
In simple but powerful ways I learned how to fix problems, handle conflict, satisfy demanding customers, and the importance of “doing it right the first time”. Each of these lessons have made an important difference in my life, but the most important trait I took away from those times was perseverance. A very simple message was planted in my young brain; if I was going to make it in life, I could never give up.
Perseverance is defined as “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition”. In our personal or business lives, we must have a full measure of perseverance if we are to enjoy success. I don’t think it matters how often we get knocked down, but I know that it really matters that we get back up, learn from the knock down, and take another shot.
As business owners, the past couple of years have most certainly presented us with many difficulties; pandemic, quarantine, inflation, remote workforce, social distancing, shutdowns, and staffing shortages, just to name a few. In spite of all of those difficulties, we must never give up. We have to be flexible, creative, and laser focused on employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
I hope you have enjoyed this issue of Taking Action. If you would like to learn how our firm helps our clients increase employee engagement and customer satisfaction, contact me via email ([email protected]), cell phone (305-926-7526), or at our corporate offices (305-964-5595). Also, you can learn more about our firm by viewing our website (www.thedougwilliamsgroup.com)
Warm personal regards,
Doug Williams
Chief Executive Officer