Last week I picked up a gem of a book: Never confuse a memo with reality. Its format is incredibly simple a list of business lessons that are "too simple not to know." Flipping through the pages I found that I agreed with (almost) all of the lessons. Some were dead obviously things I already do daily, bunch were things I ought to do and only a few were things I flat out disagreed with. Sometimes it doesn't take an entire paragraph to state the obvious. Here are a few of my favourite lessons from the book:
- Always know who your client or customer is—no matter what your job is.
- Maintain a three-year rolling career plan.
- Be known as someone who enhances customer service.
- Make a "to do" list every day. Crossing things off the list is very satisfying.
- Never go to more than two meetings a day or you will never get anything done.
- Leave your office building at least once every day, even if it's January and you work in Anchorage. It will clear your head.
- Befriend your travel agent but don't try to be close friends with subordinates. (Actually that was two tips. But I cheated and squished them into one.)
- Never be the last to leave a company going downhill: your personal market value declines each additional day you stay.
- It may not be a small world, but there is a small number of people who count.
- Send thank-you notes to people who help you.
Do you have a few simple business lessons that are too simple not to know? Please share them by adding comment to this blog entry!
my business tip - another obvious one
Be genuinely interested in front line people (receptionists, customer service reps, exec assistants). They often are glad of a real conversation and they will be valuable friends, maybe not right away, but at their next job.
Lynda