Build a Firm Foundation
I want to write today about the importance of laying a firm foundation. This is equally important in your personal life, as in your work life. When you have a strong foundation, anything and everything you build on top of that will stand for a long time, and it will stay firm and in place, irrespective of disruptions that may threaten to knock it over. Those disruptions can come in the form of external events and forces like wind, earthquakes, floods, fires, etc.
Components of a Firm Foundation
The same analogy holds true with a firm foundation with a client or with your loved ones in a personal relationship. How do you build that firm foundation? You build it on a number of ingredients and tenets. The first one is trust. Integrity is the second one. Competence is the third, and ability is the fourth. Most importantly, it is achieved by you putting the other person’s interest front and center of your interaction. Those are the variables that result in building a firm foundation.
Every interaction that you have with a person, whether it’s in a professional setting, or in a personal setting, gives you the opportunity to either strengthen the foundation or weaken it. The foundation takes time to be built but can be weakened and destroyed very quickly. Make sure to view every interaction, as an opportunity for you to demonstrate trust, exhibit your competence and your expertise, show that you are full of integrity, and most importantly, that you’re putting the other person’s interest first and foremost, and at the center of every interaction.
Impact of Building a Firm Foundation
When you do that, the other person opens up to you, recognizes that you are a trusted advisor for them, and will share with you what is of importance to them and how you can help them. The firm foundation is going to be a necessary condition for you to have a consistent and repeatable exchange of value. In the absence of a firm foundation, the structure and the relationship is not going to flourish over a period of time-you may get one or two transactions, but after that, just like a weak foundation, the structure is going to topple over when there is any pressure from the outside. So please keep that in mind.
Your Responsibility
You have a responsibility as a leader in your household, and as a leader in your workplace, to create that environment where you can build a firm foundation. This is even more important when you the person you’re interacting with is not a one- time transaction, but you’re going to deal with that person over a period of time. The same applies in a relationship with your spouse, or your parent or your child or your neighbor. Every interaction you have, consider that as an opportunity, where you have an obligation to strengthen the firm foundation. Remember to invest in building the firm foundation. It will give you a lot of benefits and value in the short term, the medium term and long term. If you have any questions or want to discuss further, please email us at info@maximizeu.life Thank you.