I enjoy bantering with several of my business partners, but there’s one supplier in particular with whom I seem to always have great, productive and inspiring conversations. This fellow is my sales rep at a supplier based in Germany. Today, we had a long and wide-ranging talk about various business items and, like many of our conversations, it was entertaining, illuminating, thought-provoking and gave me some new ideas to try.
Many of my business relationships are friendships, but not all of them. And it blows my mind pretty much every time they are not because it’s such a needless waste of energy. There seems to be a school of thought in business (maybe in lie) where win-lose is the only way to make money. “Win-lose” is where the goal is for me to “win” and I can only do that if you “lose.” This school of grouchiness seems to believe that “win-win” and the trust to make that happen is impossible.
I suppose a hostile universe would only be populated by win-lose relationships: where I have to lose in order for you to win. Fortunately, my universe is mostly populated by win-win relationships, and I’m grateful for that.
Evidence of a friendly universe: collaborative business relationships where the parties work to help everyone win.