Every Saturday in the community where I live, organic farmers from throughout our area sell their wares at a Farmers’ Market. One of the streets is closed off to vehicles and people stroll along and purchase everything from veggies and fruits to milk and meats, handicrafts, AND orchids.
They are so beautiful and so appealing and (thank goodness) very reasonably priced. We often buy one for a friend who has gone through a difficult time. They are so delicate and so varied.
I remember reading in a publication called The Forbes Scrapbook of Thoughts on the Business of Life this passage: “The most precious thing anyone – man or business, anybody or anything – can have is the good will of others. It is something as fragile as an orchid.”
Good will. It can be granted in a moment and taken away just as quickly, can’t it? What is it that great organizations do to sustain that good will? I like these three:
- Brute force attention to details
- Systems that speed delivery of their product or service
- Cheerful, helpful people who love to serve
I remember taking a class at UNC Chapel Hill as an undergraduate and the professor told us that when a company is sold, the people setting the price tally up sales numbers…assets and liabilities…personnel…and so on, and then add on a healthy percentage for the very thing I’m writing about here: good will.
The size of that percentage is solely dependent on how others feel about us…and of this I am sure: it really is “as fragile as an orchid.” Take some time to tend your orchids this week.