Don't stop believing

The IMG Creed

Because the customer has a need, we have a job to do. Because the customer has a choice, we must be the better choice. Beacuse the customer has sensibilities, we must be considerate. Because the customer has urgency, we must be quick. Because the customer is unique, we must be flexible. Because the customer has high expectations, we must excel. Because the customer has influence, we have the hope of more customers. Because of the customer, we exist.

I really enjoy this motto from the website of Integrity Marketing Group (Roy Zeh). I don't know him or his business, but sense IMG observes the values outlined in this blog entry.

Craig Galati, in his The Heart of Business blog, presents an impressive argument of the essential value of faith in marketing. He writes:

Who would hire someone or buy something from someone who doesn’t believe in himself? One of the most important aspects of developing new business is confidence. You must know and truly believe in the value you are providing to your clients.

Galati's observations ring true -- and, at least informally, are validated by the experiences of others who have lived through good and hard times, yet somehow kept their businesses intact. Deep down, you find in longer-term success, resilience coupled with talent and what seems to be a magical additional ingredient. Dumb people might call it 'luck' but individuals of different religious faiths would link it to the spiritual realm.

I'm certainly not describing here the blind and mindless arguments from The Secret (The Law of Attraction) and other similar sources which advocate seemingly blind (and dumb) faith. And I've seen (and fought against) some con-artists who know how to give false hopes and success visions to sometimes desperate and often unsophisticated suckers. You know you are dealing with these charlatans when they fail to make clear that you should not enter the business journey without real talent in your field, and real perseverance -- the 'luck' or spiritual edge only is valid if the other two ingredients are there.

But you can see the positive side of business success connecting with larger values when you review yesterday's Contractortalk.com thread about the renovator who has battled the cost of his child's illness, and economic setbacks, and is now receiving practical advice and support (which, by the way, is useful for anyone facing inordinately hard times). And I've shared several times my own two business rebound stories. If you are really good at what you do, and your faith is so strong that you will not give up, no matter how the odds seem stacked against you, just at the moment when you let go of your security ropes, and all seems to be failing, you'll receive the answers you are seeking.