Incompetent, evil, lucky or just plain good people?

I come from a middle-class family. I had no wealthy uncle or aunt who gave me huge sums of money nor did I have access to a family business. I worked at UPS from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. every day for five years to pay my way through college. As entrepreneurs go, I am pretty typical. Most of us started with little or nothing and then built on that over time. As I’ve gone down this path of entrepreneurialism, I’ve met some very successful people. And most of them have something in common that we in America are being influenced to actually assume the opposite of. Most of them are honest, caring people. But the rich and successful tend to be viewed as either evil or incompetent by society. My theory on successful people is that they are like everyone else in that there are good ones and not-so-good ones. They have gone down a path that has led them to extraordinary situations. And along the way, they have, in most situations, been good, honest people who have earned a lifetime of loyalty and respect from those whose lives they’ve touched.


Barry LaBov
LaBov Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com

Vanity

It's funny, don't try to talk sense to someone who's obsessed with status. Don't try to explain that a big office or a title or special parking space mean nothing. There is no logical argument that I have seen that will influence that person.

It's like telling a coke addict that cocaine means nothing and is unimportant. So what do you do?

As much as it's not my style, I have to say that the best course is moving on. It's not a debate. A person focused on status cannot be focused on the right things, because their brain is obsessed with it.

In my business, there's only room for doing our best for the client, anything else—vanity, ego, laziness—depletes and defeats us. So, for me, it's focus on the right thing or nothing at all.

Barry LaBov
LaBov Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com

He's our "devil"

I saw a rock band once talk about their manager, who had a dubious reputation as a cut-throat son of a gun. One of the members of the band said, "He may be Satan, but he's our (meaning his band's) Satan." His point was that this guy may have been really ruthless, but the band was comfortable with him and felt he was the best manager they could ever have.

When I hear someone complain about a customer, I remember this. Sure, they may be difficult or demanding, but they're our customer. We can complain or moan about someone, but who says another person (your manager or your customer) would be any better?

Barry LaBov
LaBov Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com