I was reminded of an old story the other day that I would like to share with you.
An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
“One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
“The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
“This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.”
As I listened to the recounting of this story I couldn’t help but apply it to the current struggles that many small business owners are going through. They have seen their markets retract or in some cases completely dry up.
Every day brings a new technology or process that provides the consumers with more options at a reduce price. When you are the consumer it is a great thing but when you are the supplier who has to compete in this climate; you may find some of these changes very challenging.
Now add to that a mentality that says; “The customer is too demanding they want everything for nothing and there is no way to please them”. Or a thought process that believes the only way to manage people is to be over bearing and harsh. To micromanage every ones move. What if you believed that your employees where always looking for a way to take advantage of the situation and never appreciate anything you do for them.
I would imagine that if this is what you believed then it is what you would see; customers who are never happy and employees who are not engaged. But what if you just fine tuned your thinking a little bit?
What if instead of demanding customers, you saw them as people trying to help you succeed? They want you to know what they are willing to buy and how much they will spend. By listening to them you just might be able to garner a bigger market share. So they are actually helping you with your research!
Maybe instead of seeing your employees as slackers and complainers; you see them as people who want to be trusted and challenged. They would like to grow with your organization and are just looking for some direction and the ability to express themselves through their work. What if those very employees are actually trying to appreciate their job and help their employer succeed? They just aren’t sure how to go about it.
So there are your wolves……. which one will you feed?
