Our fearless leader, David Crary, sat down last month with Ruth King of turnonmyfinancialightbulb.com and Mike Ratchford, an expert in the marketing field. The three did a program focused on marketing touch points (you can read other posts about this session on our blog, or check out the entire program here).
At the end of each of these programs, the experts provide a useful business tip titled “Business HindSite Tip”. This session’s tip? The company always follows the leader. King says if your company is not where you want it to be, you must change first before anything else will change.
Basically, be the change you want to see in the world. Or in this case, the change you want to see in your field service management company.
You are the owner for a reason. Your employees listen to what you have to say and do what they are told because they respect you. If they didn’t, we don’t think you’d still be in business. Knowing this, you need to be aware of your actions and overall mindset. The way you act and handle different situations really does affect your company, believe it or not. And if you want things to change, you have to be the beginning of that change.
Ratchford used a great example during the program. He said to imagine you own a company that has been in business for 50 years (and maybe you have!). And let’s say you want this company to continue to be around for the next 30 years. This will take some effort to keep up with the newer generations of potential customers. To do this, your company is going to have to make changes. Perhaps you will need to become a more technologically advanced company (by buying our awesome field service software). Now we know change is not easy for everyone, but attitude is everything, especially the owners’ attitude. If you want your company to keep growing, you need to set a good example for your employees.
Here are just a few examples of how you, the leader, can invoke change for your company (and have your employees to come with for the change):
- Educate yourself – If you want your company to learn something new, you should learn it too. It shows you are involved and care about your company, plus your employees will appreciate that they are not the only ones doing extra work, but instead the whole company is in it together.
- Attitude – Your attitude is a huge factor for change. Changes are hard on everyone, and negative attitudes can add that much more stress. Be positive and encouraging. Never complain about a change you want to see happen for your company. It shows the change as a negative thing in your employee’s eyes, plus it may subconsciously affect your own feelings on the change.
- Go first -Nobody is going to change unless you do. Make the first move. Take the initiative. You are the owner after all and we doubt you became an owner to just sit back and let others control your company. Be proactive!
So when it comes time to make a change for the well-being of your company, remember, it all starts with you. Employees are employees and not owners for a reason. You own the company and you decide what is best for the company. Once you decide it, act on it. Don’t just tell everyone else what to do while not changing your own approaches in the process. Be the change you want to see and the company will follow after you.