Do you ever get that freaky feeling that you are being watched . . . that someone, and you can’t tell who or where they are, is watching you for some reason?
Well, brace yourself . . . It is true! You are being watched! You are being watched by all kinds of people and you really should care. You should care because, for starters, you are being watched by your;
- Employees
- Current customers
- Potential customers
- Competitors
Employees
Your employees are watching you because, among other things, you set the example for their;
- interaction with customers
- interaction with coworkers, leaders and direct reports
- leadership behaviors
- integrity in the workplace
- tenacity and drive
- work load
- work hours
- goal setting and achievement
- short term and long term vision
- personal and professional development
Current Customers
Your customers are watching you to see if you;
- are trustworthy and dependable
- deliver on your promises
- can help them solve their problems as opposed to just selling them something
- are proactive
- deliver a product or service that contributes to their competitive advantage
- give them any reasons to switch to someone else that might be better than you in some way
Potential Customers
Your potential customers are watching you for many of the same reasons as your customers. However, they are looking for reasons why they should start doing business with you instead of with their current providers. It can be painful to switch between suppliers. There are new contracts that need to be negotiated, procurement might have to get involved to determine pricing and rates and business systems will need to be adjusted for ordering, receiving, invoicing and payment. So, what are you doing to show your potential customers that it is more than worth the effort to switch to you?
Competitors
Your competitors are also watching you closely. They are watching you to see;
- where you are weak so they can take advantage of these weaknesses
- where you are strong because they might be able to emulate these qualities
- where your next market target is because they might be able to shoulder their way in
These are just a few of the groups of people that are constantly watching you. It is easy to see why it matters as the impact your actions have on everyone around you can profoundly impact them and you (and we haven’t even addressed people groups like your family and friends).
The challenge to you is, what are you going to do about it? What example do you need to continually set in order to set yourself apart from the status quo?
“Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.” Edmund Burke
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.