Main Idea
What do you think of when you hear the word investment? Is it good or bad or ugly? Do you associate the word with stocks, bonds, houses, businesses and retirement plans? Do you ever associate it with people?
Expansion of Idea
When we think of investments we normally think of our savings, our house and our retirement plans. But I would argue that those are minor compared to the true treasures in our lives. What happens when you invest in yourself? Or what happens when you invest in an employee or a relationship with your future spouse? How much time do we invest in our kids? There is no immediate payback and our whole goal is to get them off the payroll when they graduate from college. But the real benefit is the joy we get when they grow up, serve others and become self sufficient.
We make those kinds of long-term investments and we never look back. We go to college to prepare us for the real world. (I know I am stepping out on an edge here.) The point is that in our personal lives we make very long-term investments in people but that mindset does not carry over to our businesses and our professional lives. The current view is frequently, “What have you done for me lately?”
Everyone is so impatient and then we wonder why there is no customer or employee loyalty. What would happen if we changed our mindset a little and started to invest in ourselves, our team members, our customer relationships and other key business partners? How can we add value to that relationship? If we can develop the people around us, including ourselves, we will be much more effective, we will have more fun, and we will probably have more time. By developing close relationships, we also improve our odds for success. As the ancient King Solomon said, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Areas to Start:
Take a few minutes and think about someone you could help or would like to improve your relationship.
Schedule some time and go do it.
Go do it again and make it part of your daily or weekly lives.