There was a death in the family last week and I guess that has caused me to think a little more about life and death than I would normally. I got to wondering in particular about what you take from a relationship. Not in the material sense but in the sense of wisdom and knowledge.
You see my stepfather who died last week was a successful business man who had travelled extensively, married, divorced, remarried, survived several recessions and generally someone who had lived a full life. And, being an intelligent and educated man, he learnt from the experiences that he had lived and that made his opinion one that was worth listening to.
And I wonder now whether I fully tapped into that wisdom that he had and that wondering has gotten me thinking about the other people that I know and whether I speak to them enough. It is easy to not ask a question and to have shallow conversations that skirt over complex issues but I am now of the opinion that the real wealth in our relations can come from putting our pride or our expectations aside and asking questions of those we know.
So whilst I didn’t ask enough questions of my stepfather let me share something he did say recently. A piece of business wisdom that is so simple that it often gets overlooked and yet ignoring it has brought down many a company.
“Get the cash.”
There it is. Simple yet fundamentally right. Whether you are a large or small company; whether you are international or local; get the cash. Because if you don’t your business has failed. It doesn’t matter about your sales pipeline, or even the number of sales you’ve made if you aren’t getting paid.
Now my stepfather was an accountant so I guess that was a natural thing to expect him to say but I’d challenge anyone to tell me he was wrong.
So always remember two things from this blog – talk to those who are wiser than you whilst you have the chance – whether a family member or business connection; and get the cash.
Do those two things and I guarantee success.
And Roger; you will be missed and I truly wish I had asked more questions.
Stephen
