The 4 Foundational Principles

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Your Message is in the Mail By Elyse Thierry Want a quick, easy and incredibly inexpensive way to promote your service or product? Then start writing thank-you notes. Perhaps you've already made thank-you notes part of your routine. If so, congratulations! By rights, sending them should be second nature to us all, but you would be amazed how few, otherwise savvy, business people pass up this opportunity to reinforce their message with their customers-and for so little. Your cost-five minutes of your time and a mere 39 cents in postage. It may even be free if your recipient prefers to communicate by email. (And you do send all business communication using your customers' preferred media, right?) Most likely you were drilled in thank-you note writing by your mother. But it's probably been awhile, so let's review the basics. Match Media with Message Imprinted bond letterhead, specialty note cards, email, only you know what best suits your company and your message. If you're working with something other than email you may find it useful to write your note out on scrap paper before committing it to print. Keep It Brief In business time really is money, so get to right to the point. Unless you had a specific request for information or samples (and even then consider sending them separately) you should be able to express your thanks in three or four lines, max. Make It Specific Think "thank you for the beautiful green sweater" versus "thank you for your gift." A generic message may be fine for mass mailings, but this is your chance to reinforce your relationship by mentioning something specific from your meeting. You might even pose a follow-up question to keep the lines of communication open. Proof Your Note-Twice Did you spell the client's name correctly? What about her title? How sure are you about your spelling and grammar? Please, don't rely on spell check, or worse grammar check, software. They're highly fallible aids. The method that works best for me is to put whatever I've written aside for a few hours. When I read it through later, the errors jump right out. Send It Promptly Get that note in your outbox as soon as possible after your meeting. Then take a minute to thank yourself for being such a smart and economical marketing pro. Elyse Thierry is a freelance copy writer with more than 20 years experience in marketing communications. Her clients have included Marshalls/TJX, Grand Circle Travel, NEBS, and Golden Circle's Dale Midgley, among a long list of others. You can contact Elyse by phone at (434) 964-1713 or by email at ElyseT@adelphia.net.

Tax Information: Tax payers will now get a 6 month automatic extension of time to file US individual returns when they file form 4868. This gives taxpayers until October 16, 2006 to file their return. Similarly, extensions of time to file partnership and trust returns will be for the automatic six-month period as well. Beginning in 2006, taxpayers can claim a personal credit for qualified energy efficiency improvements installed during the year. There are limitations, and the credit is only available for property placed in service in 2006 and 2007. If you have been thinking of new windows for your home, this would be the time. Commercial buildings will also qualify for an immediate deduction for the cost of qualified energy-savings improvements. H&R Block Franchise Owner Vickie Croteau (207) 793-2041

I am frequently asked “what are the most important things you can do as a manager”? To answer that question I usually tell them that list is long but there are four foundational principles you must personally represent and expect from each everyone one of your employees.

Those four principles are the following:

1. Mutual respect and dignity for all employees and customers
2. Intelligence, both emotional and rational
3. Trust among supervisors, peers, and subordinates alike
4. Personal responsibility

In my experience I have always found that with out those four principles in place nothing else seems to work as smoothly and predictably as it should.

Mutual respect and dignity for all employees and customers:
Although to a large degree this speaks for itself, mutual respect and dignity is really about establishing a mind set with in your business that all interactions need to be professional and empathetic. When people interact with each other under this philosophy it makes people feel valued and does not allow for one person or group to look unfavorably on another – everyone is equal and deserves the same level of respect. On an individual level this is really the embodiment of a patient, understanding and empathetic person.

As a coworker this person is respected by their peers, their company is enjoyed, their presence is uplifting and their contributions are valued.
To the customers this person represents professionalism, concern for their satisfaction and pride in the work they do.
As a leader this person projects confidence, caring, balance, fairness and class.
As a guiding principle it is first on the list because it sets the tone for all interactions one will have in a day, regardless of who they interact with. By treating everyone with mutual respect and dignity all interactions go smoothly, stress remains low and productivity improves.

Intelligence both emotional and rational:
Many times with employees you get one or the other and only occasionally both. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability for one to be insightful in regard to any particular situation and then respond to what is happening rather than to react. Rational intelligence is having the knowledge necessary to do ones job to the level that is expected with out requiring any undue supervision. It is knowing what to do, when to do it and why you are you are doing it, all while keeping a steady hand regardless of the situation.

As a coworker this person represents a calm, analytical, logical and thoughtful person who can be relied on.
To the customer this person is viewed as a mature, professional and conscientious individual.
As a leader this person is viewed as wise, experienced, insightful and an engaged and competent leader.
As a guiding principle emotional and rational intelligence insures good decision making under almost any circumstances. Good decisions beget more good decisions and that is good for business.

Trust among supervisors, peers, and subordinates alike:
Nothing beats trust if want to have an ever improving business. Trust is essential and also very delicate, which is why it must be consistently cultivated. Just think about the people you really trust in your life, family, friends, certain co-workers or trusted confidants. You will do anything for them if need be, and they would do the same for you. You take them for face value and do not judge or make assumptions in regard to what they do. If you have a concern you talk to them about it and they know you are addressing it because you care about them. In business trust is invaluable and if you do not have it can put a wrench in the works faster than anything I know. People learn more, are more honest with, feel more comfortable with and will work in a more committed fashion both with and for, people they trust. Make your trust with in your organization a personal responsibility.

As a coworker this person is trusted that they will support their co-workers needs and they will always pull their own weight.
To the customer this person is respected and appreciated and they are generally the reason why that customer continues to do business with your company.
As a leader this person is first and foremost about doing what is in the best interest of the employees, customers and the business and people can see that in them.
As a guiding principle Trust is a must - simple as that.

Personal responsibility:
In large part personal responsibility is about being accountable and following through. Someone who displays this characteristic will always have higher standards of what they expect from themselves than what their subordinates peers, or supervisors expect from them. This type of person has a great deal of pride in what they do and they refuse to provide mediocre service to any customer. Should this person make a mistake they will learn from it and make sure that they improve upon it in the future, thus greatly lowering a supervisors need to watch over this individual.

As a coworker they are reliable, competent and a driver.
To the customer this type of employee gives them a sense of confidence in the businesses integrity.
As a leader this person shows the employees that they do not expect them to do anything more or less than what they are doing themselves. They lead by example.
As a guiding principle personal responsibility is one of those intangibles that is hard to see in someone from the get go, but if they have it you will know it. Further more if you can develop it in all of your employees, on that alone you will have an advantage over the competition.

For an individual or a business to instill these values in employees, the manger or management team must practice them in each and every decision, transaction, and interaction. This must happen at all levels throughout the organization through the daily and long-term management of the business. The positive spillover effect to customers will embellish and enhance the company brand name, giving the company a definite and sustainable competitive advantage over others.

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Dale and Ben Midgley
Co-Founders
The Golden Circle of Business©