Clients First: The Two Word Miracle

Vigilance

When I see JoAnn persevere to the point of tears while some businesses seem to survive without putting their Clients First, when I find myself dealing with a difficulty for which the Clients First option is not going to make things immediately easier—these are the times when it is important to keep the commitment. This is why it is important to speak the commitment. We must remind ourselves every day that putting Clients First is the right thing to do, so that we may keep the commitment.

It is so easy to fall off the wagon. A bite of someone else’s French fry today may lead to a 2,000-calorie breakfast the next morning. We forget, and we forget quickly. Once, I tripped and broke my finger when I fell. When I stood up, I looked down and saw that I had missed a two-inch step up in the sidewalk. Had it been a six-inch riser, I would have seen it coming and my finger wouldn’t have ached like the devil. No, it is the little steps we miss. Falling away from a commitment isn’t a giant blunder, it’s a teeny-weeny mistake. For a moment, you let a client get to you and you think I don’t need this aggravation, and the next day you are prejudging a walk-in and deciding whether you even want to bother with that person and his or her problems.

Clients First is a commitment you must keep every day. You must recommit every day.

Eventually, the habit sets in. Eventually, you become hardwired. The temptations go away. Keeping your commitment to putting Clients First becomes easier. The ...