Yesterday’s Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter, in which I re-posted my blog entry regarding my business’s ethical failure and then revitalization – resulted in some rather interesting responses. One response has the potential to reshape and deepen my business’s relationships with a major and influential association (and if you’ve read my Construction Marketing Ideas book, you will appreciate that, in our business, successful client-focused association relationships are one of the key components of construction marketing success.)
In my posting and newsletter entry, I admitted some real failings, sincerely praised and complemented someone who had attacked my business, and made no effort to hide my flaws and the real problems with my company’s primary selling model.
This candor, of course, reflects one of the core rules of successful marketing, the perhaps over-expressed authenticity concept. People are almost always more comfortable working with you if you share and acknowledge your weaknesses as well as your strengths, provided (and this is important), the weaknesses you share help to highlight and enhance your strengths.
In my case, one of the key responses arrived from someone who knows me and my antagonist quite well and who is in the position to respect and appreciate my opponent’s real contribution to the industry. He has also seen and experienced our (and the other person’s) business practices first-hand. We both pass the integrity test though I don’t expect to win an ethics award soon and the other person rightfully deserves his recognition.
Obviously, I don’t hold grudges, but equally, I don’t give up when things go wrong. Ahh, intelligent persistence. So I’ll share three concepts here which may help you if things don’t seem to be going quite right in your business relationships and practices.
If you are attacked or you hear signals of hostility to your business, how should you respond?
I’ve learned to listen to my “gut” and of course will take defensive or sometimes counter-offensive measures. (One ‘fight back’ to a truly unethical competitor resulted in the other organization filing a million dollar lawsuit against my business. The judge cleared us, awarding costs to our favour.)
I don’t hold grudges even against people or organizations who cause problems.
One of the co-plaintiffs in that case went on to work with our business on other projects and revenue-generating initiatives. We don’t see much of each other now, but we are now certainly not at war.
I seek to learn and improve from my experiences (even if they are terrible).
This ability to profit from real problems has allowed our business to survive — and thrive — as it moves into its third decade.
I am not an angel. Our business is not perfect. However, I’m glad that I’ve learned to apply these rules. They work.
