Common sense tells us:
- Most people look for a fair deal, where both parties exchange value,
- Some people look to cheat others, heads I win - tails you lose, and
- Some people look to help others, expecting little or nothing in return.
Those three things probably fit nicely in a bell curve, where the norm is business people exchanging fair value with one another.
That's the viewpoint here: most business people do business with one another in an effort to obtain some value and deliver some value in exchange.
People exchanging value - that's the essence of business.
If you agree with that then to grow business you must increase the exchange of value. And, as you work to increase the exchange of value you will do better if you know how both parties define the value they seek and the value they deliver.
Most business people just scratch the surface of value exchange. Sales people tend to know the value they think they're delivering. Purchasing people tend to know the value they think they're receiving. Sales people may make a serious effort to try to determine what the purchasing people want to receive. Purchasing people may make a serious effort to try to understand what the sales people want to receive. But it's highly unlikely their thoughts go beyond those things. For example, sales people do not understand what value the sales people who work at the purchasing person's company are looking to receive or deliver. And, vice-versa, purchasing people do not understand what value the purchasing people who work at the sales person's company are looking to receive or deliver.
Even worse, sales people do not understand the value the purchasing people at their organization are trying to receive and deliver and purchasing people don't know the value their organization's sales people are trying to receive and deliver.
People tend to know what they want and what they're prepared to deliver in exchange for it. However, they have a much smaller understanding of what other people want and are trying to deliver in exchange for it.
This applies within companies. This applies between companies. This applies between people.
Some years ago we addressed this with our Clients' Clients Philosophy.
Here are the starting-point questions …
- What value do you want to receive from people at other companies?
- What value do you want to deliver to people at other companies?
- What value do other people in your company want to receive from people at other companies?
- What value do people in other companies want to receive from other people in your company?
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People who possess an ongoing curiosity around questions about what other people value have the opportunity to excel in business, to excel in interpersonal relationships, and to deliver and receive tremendous value.
Some people are too busy. So, they don't get these things…and they don’t get most of the other things they want.