Finding myself in a 20 minute line to vote this morning, I started pondering what business lessons could be learned from this whole voting process. The vast majority of businesses I work with have found this election to be a major obstacle to their plans. Having overcome hurricanes, oil spills, housing bubbles, and a recession our businesses are pretty resilient. Yet many of them have put their plans on hold until they see who is elected today (or whenever the election is decided). Obama care and regulation are the primary reasons.
A quote on iPhone from my yet- to-meet friend, Brian Tracy, got me thinking. “We must look for the opportunity in every difficulty instead of being paralyzed by the difficulty in every opportunity.” Walter E. Cole, Korean War Hero. What are the opportunities for businesses if Obama care gets fully implemented? The line started moving and I shifted back to lessons learned in the political process.
Here are the cliff notes:
Political Process Business Lesson
Most people don’t care(50% vote)! Most customers are too busy
to notice you.
People occasionally pay attention Know your marketing and
buying seasons.
Candidates exaggerate differences Stay consistent with your brand promises
and avoid reactionary competitive responses.
Voters vote Against as much as For Remember the 10 to 1 rule of customer service
Voting is a precious privilege Never take your customers or employee for
granted.
The lady is asking for my ID so I guess it’s time to get this show on the road. I suspect that by Thursday most businesses will be doing the same thing. Now back to that Obama care question:).