We say Business only contains 3 things: People, Process, & Situations.
We need to clarify what we mean by ‘Situations’.
Situation def’n:
a snapshot of an instant in business life…the people, the ‘props’, and the immediate environment
At Spirited Leaders, we teach:
The right People, of course, are the most-important assets of your business
People create Process
People influence Situations…ideally; the majority of the influence is in the positive direction
Let’s spend a bit of time clarifying that last one: People influence Situations
Example #1: Say you or one of your salespeople show up to a meeting and your Client is there as expected. But, not expected, your Client’s boss is sitting beside your Client. You walked in the room expecting one Situation and, instead, you found another. Everything but one was exactly the same as you expected. The one thing that wasn’t expected – actually, not a thing, a person – was the addition of your Client’s boss. So, the Situation changed. As any good sales school would teach…you need to make an adjustment to accommodate the unexpected Situation.
Example #2: Again, you or one of your people is about to visit that same Client. This time when you arrive everything is as expected except for one small change. Your Client’s office is sweltering hot and the humidity feels like 100%. Same people, different environment…different Situation. Again, you need to make an adjustment to accommodate the unexpected Situation.
Example #3: Like above, except no boss and the room is room temperature. This time there is a power failure so you cannot deliver your presentation on the big screen as planned. A ‘prop’ has changed. Again, you need to adjust.
Or…
- you spilled coffee on your shirt on the way to the Client’s office or
- lightning knocked a tree across the road and that made you late for the meeting or
- you forgot those important papers
- or
- or
It only takes a little thing to change a Situation.
But – and this is good news – a little change in Situation can mean everything!