If you’re wondering whether we can work together, please take a look at my core business values.  I hold these to be important, and are non-negotiable in my business relationships.

How about you?  What are your values?

FAMILY FIRST:  The health and happiness of  you and your family are more important than your business activities. It’s the same with me.  Finding the balance is not always easy, but family stuff takes priority.

PROMISES:  I do what I say I am going to do for you. I keep my promises, and I will not make promises I know I can’t keep.   That said, sometimes things don’t work out as expected and even the best plans and agreements need to change.  In such cases, I will initiate a discussion with you at the earliest opportunity to seek your consent to vary our agreement and reach a new agreement with you.

RESPECT:   I know respect usually has to be earned.  If you run your own business and want to do better online, you have my respect to start with.  I respect you and your time, ideas, philosophies, ambitions and dreams.  My time is precious too, and I too have ideas, philosophies, ambitions, goals and dreams.  Mutual respect is important to me.

TRUTH:  I will always tell you the truth.  We need to speak openly and plainly with each other. Sometimes I may be blunt but there is no need for the truth to be brutal. I try to tell the truth with compassion.

SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBLEMS:  I focus on finding solutions, not making more problems. I like to quickly solve problems to help you get better results faster.

NO MAGIC:  I will not pretend there are quick-fix magic answers when none exist.  If I think there are legal and ethical ways to fast-track your results, then I will share them with you or try to help you find them.

BE SUPPORTIVE:  I try to always speak and act supportively. I actively work to support my clients and their team members.

QUICKLY LEARN FROM MISTAKES:  I know mistakes happen, especially when we do new things. Mistakes are opportunities to learn and to improve processes and systems.  We all need to make more mistakes, learn fast and correct quickly.  If we’re not making mistakes, we’re probably not trying enough new things.  If we make the same mistake more than once, we’re not learning or not learning quickly enough.

RESULTS:  I believe we can usually achieve better results if we have measurable worthwhile goals. Results are important, but I believe happiness comes from how well we play the game, and not just from looking at the game’s scoreboard.   Success in life is not all about winning.  I don’t believe in ‘whatever it takes’  and ‘winning at all costs’.   The ‘ends’ do not justify the ‘means’, especially if you sacrifice your values to achieve ‘the ends’.  Success is a journey, not a destination, and we’re all on different paths.

FLEXIBILITY:   I see flexibility as a key business requirement and strength, especially in times of rapid change.  We need to know where we want to go and why. How we get there will probably  change, so we need to be agile and flexible.  I will always encourage you to build more flexibility into your business plans.

CHOOSY:  I like to do business with people who share my core values.  Yes, this does make me choosy, and I realize you are choosy too. Being choosy is good.

Please note, I’m not perfect.  I certainly don’t know everything.  (Please be wary of anyone who pretends they have all the answers.)  I do make mistakes.  I’m an improviser and I like to drive projects and businesses, and I love to learn fast.

I love being part of great teams, but I hate internal politics and petty squabbles and power-games.  I’ve realized over the years that I have a low tolerance to BS.  I don’t like liars. I’ve been conned out of good money by bad con-men, and I don’t like fraudulent activity.  I don’t tolerate bureaucratic crap very well.

I like to make quick decisions when we can, but sometimes I do need to mull things over before giving my views and guidance.  I don’t like procrastinating, but sometimes I do it.  I don’t really believe in Astrology, but for what it’s worth,  my star sign is a Gemini.  I do tend to see many sides of  complex issues. I think that is usually a strength.

I believe in karma.  What goes around comes around.  We reap what we sow.

I believe in the Golden Rule.  I try to treat others as I would like to be treated. More importantly, I try to treat others as they would like to be treated. (And a special thank you to my friend, Dr Shaun Ridley who made this distinction in his latest book “One More Small Step for Leaders“.