The Way We See Ourselves

I purchased something a while back from a fellow with a good story. He's an internet marketer who had a tragedy befall his family and to help cover the resulting costs, he put together a really good information package at a very low price. I bought it because I thought the value of the package was great and I wanted to help out.

As time went on, I found the communication from this fellow started drifting from the core package of information originally promised. While it all had to do with internet marketing, I was starting to see it was all trying to sell me more stuff that I didn't particularly want. And to top it off, he made an income statement that made me feel like I'd been had.

So I e-mailed him, made my opinion known, asked to be unsubscribed and suggested he refund the original package price. He did those things, but took the time to strongly defend his actions. I accept his defense, but one thing surprised me.

Not once did he ask why I felt the way I did or what he might have done to make me feel that way. Everything was about him - why what he was doing was right and why I was wrong. If he had taken a slightly different approach to answering me, he'd still have my money (and a tad more respect) today.

Maybe we get a little wrapped up in what we're doing to notice that not everything we do is perceived the way we think it is.

It's possible we see ourselves in a different light than others do.

The people who support us 100% are not the most important voices we need to listen to. It's the people who DON'T that provide us with the feedback we need to improve.

Remember that the next time someone criticizes your product or service - it's an opportunity to make things better.

More Prima Donnas Needed

I remember getting raked over the coals in a past-work life about my attitude towards my job. I had just been transferred to a new department in which I had no experience and was expected to take on tasks that I had no training for. I refused to take on the responsibility of those tasks because I knew if something bad happened on my watch, the sh*t was REALLY going to hit the fan, so to speak.

Anyway, my boss was away when I refused this task and when he got back from his trip, he ranted and railed against my refusal to accept the new job position. Somewhere during this he said "we don't need prima-donnas like you around here". I was prepared for the overall berating of my attitude and I parted ways with the company that very day - much to my relief.

The thing is, we DO need more prima donnas - there should be at least one in every department. This is the person who stands up and says "NO - THIS CAN BE DONE BETTER AND I WON'T STAND BY WHILE THIS (project/department/company) GOES TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET".

Okay - maybe we can do without the ego and posturing traditionally associated with the "prima donna personality", but we all benefit from the people who are passionate enough about what they're doing who push us to do better - to go beyond the mediocre and really achieve something worth doing.