Whatever you sell, people come to you for that plus joy. Especially in these stressful times. They want groceries plus joy. Accounting or legal services plus joy. Financial services plus joy. Auto parts plus joy! As goofy as it may sound, when you have so many competitors all selling about the same thing at about the same price, joy could be your sustainable competitive advantage.
First off, joy begins with you. You are the source of joy and energy in your business or your department. If the lights are out on the front porch of your life, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll brighten the way for anyone else. So, get with the program and up your personal joy factor.
Next, hire joyful people. Bless you if you think you can take sad, small-hearted people and somehow transform them into joyful team members.That happens in Disney movies, but rarely in real life.So, hire people who are joyful by nature, and create a culture that keeps them that way.
Sandra Wilson, founder and former owner of children’s footwear manufacturer Robeez Footwear in British Columbia, used to tell prospective employees, “If you’re not prepared to do the chicken dance, you can’t work here.”
In other words, she didn’t want staff who couldn’t or wouldn’t be joyful. Each day at mid-morning, the Chicken Dance music was cranked up and everyone in the office and factory got up and did the chicken dance. It created joy, laughter and some energizing physical movement. By creating this culture of joy, Sandra reduced staff turnover by 50% while growing the business to the point where she sold it for over $30 million.
Finally, create rituals of joy. Encourage joyfulness. Create celebrations, rewards, events, contests and activities throughout the year that acknowledge, energize, uplift, engage and encourage. Take a calendar and mark on it each day of the year that you can do something joyful for your customers, your team and yourself and then do it!
In these difficult times we need joy more than ever. So, what will you do to make your business more joyful for your team, for your customers and for yourself?
Here are a few things to think about
My business quote of the week: “The world doesn’t need one more mediocre anything! What are you doing to be extraordinary, to stand out, get noticed and be the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’ for your target customers? Do the work!”
The hypocrisy and sheer stupidity of this boggles the mind: My brother-in-law sent me this note and photo from Bali, Indonesia, where the latest G20 summit of global leaders was held in earlu November.
“I took this photo this morning while bicycling here in Bali. Charging stations for electric vehicles, powered by huge diesel generators are everywhere. They’ve been recently installed, at great expense, to impress the G20 summit delegates who are here in Bali by the thousands. ‘Clean’ electric vehicles powered by dirty diesel fuel. How stupid and hypocritical is that?”
That’s it for this week! Stay safe and live brilliantly!