It’s been a long time since I was upset enough to take the time to write a company about their customer service. Here is the letter I have sent them and I will be tweeting about it later. I hope to have something positive to tweet back.

Start of Letter

I am a long time customer and quite disappointed at my bakery experience from this past weekend.

I normally buy your pre-made cakes when I have special occasions. However, this was a very special birthday for my nephew and I was in charge of the cake this year.

This past Friday, September 17, 2010, I spoke to a very nice lady at the bakery named GeGe, and she took my order. Since we ONLY buy whipped frosting cake, I asked her specifically if I could special order your SpongeBob 2 tiered cake. She assured me whipped frosting was workable.

The next day, I picked up the cake at about 345pm. It wasn’t until after we had dinner and were ready to open presents that I was able to taste the cake – so we’re talking a span of approximately 5 hours – before I realized I was given a SUGAR frosting cake.

We threw out about half the cake (though we normally save our cakes and devour them over the course of a week) but I did cut off a slice so that I could give you guys more than just my word that it was made improperly.

At my first available moment off, the following Tuesday at approximately 345pm, I went to the bakery and one of your bakers was working. I spoke to her about my situation and she told me that she could tell just by looking at the cake that it was sugar. She also advised me that the manager wouldn’t be back until the next day.

So today, Wednesday, September 22, I went back up to the bakery and asked for GeGe the manager.

The same baker from yesterday said that GeGe wasn’t in. She also said when she spoke to the manager, he said that I should have brought it in right away and you guys could’ve fixed it in about 5 minutes.

I proceeded to ask for the manager. To my surprise, GeGe came out to speak to me. I was just told she wasn’t there when I asked for her, but when I asked for a manager, she comes in his place?

She was pretty guarded at first, but I explained the situation above. She then politely asked what she could do to make it right. I asked for credit for half the cake since I threw about half of it away and since the whole cake was wrong.

GeGe said she would speak to the store manager.

When GeGe came back, she said the manager offered me $15. I told her even though I would accept that since it was better than nothing, that she needed to go back and tell that manager that it was not right, and it was not fair.

GeGe proceeded to tell me that he doesn’t give any more than $10 usually if at all because they have so many people trying to scam the system.

Though I am quite sympathetic to this, as a business owner myself, I believe that the situation was handled quite poorly.

1. I’ve never made a complaint about anything to anyone at your company.
2. I go to your store almost every day and yesterday was in there twice. If I miss a day, then my husband or my cousins who live with me are spending money there.
3. This was an EXPENSIVE cake = $50! Twice as much as I normally shell out for a cake larger than this one.
4. My younger son has a birthday on October 11 and has requested the exact same cake.
5. The mistake was yours not mine.
6. The fact that I was told I should’ve brought it back right away was absurd because it was a response not well thought out. I was 45 minutes away in Keller, TX by then…and it was HOURS before we even brought the cake out.

When the manager sent GeGe out to speak to me in his place, that was already poor in taste. However, had GeGe came back with good news, it would have been acceptable. When he decided that he would not give me what I requested, a GOOD manager would have come out  himself to speak to me.

He proved himself to be a coward, put his employee in the line of fire – which I can tell has happened to her more than once just by the way she handled me, and did your company a disservice by disregarding my value as your customer.

I am now on the lookout for another place that can make that type of cake (even if I have to pay the same or a higher price) since I am now quite upset about the way your store manager has handled my situation. So for the difference of $10, you will have potentially lost my bakery business for good. I am quite certain that you are aware that most people are quite fast to spread news about terrible customer service. I am no exception to that rule.

The purpose of this letter: to make you aware that one of your loyal customers is now no longer quite so loyal due to a lack of good judgement by one of your managers – someone you hire to balance the good of the store with good customer service.

Sincerely,
Lee DeGrande

So the moral to this advertising story? Sex still sells. Yes, so does clever, funny, outrageous, politically incorrect, but SEX will capture your attention faster than any other type of method? Why?

Because we all want it. On some level or other, sex makes us all take note. Whether it makes us think about how much we want to:

• Have sex right now
• Have sex as soon as possible
  
• Never have sex again

It’s effective in making us aware of sex right at that moment. And the purpose of marketing is awareness so that we can covert the ‘aware’ into buyers.

Just because you’re here doesn’t mean your present. What is the meaning of that phrase today?

Well, just because you show up to work today doesn’t mean you’re here.

When you own a small business, you have to more than know how to clean the toilets and wash the laundry and schedule the appointments and sell your products, you have to actually do it to gain the respect of your staff.

There’s a tremendous difference between having knowledge of the different pieces of your company and having working experience of it.

Small Business Owners

You can’t possibly expect your staff to dutifully clean the toilets if you have never picked up a bottle of Tidy Bowl yourself.

I know that the phrase lead by example is so overused, but for good reason. The reason that phrase never dies is because it’s the crux of a every thriving business.

If you walk into your business throwing about orders and not rolling up your sleeves to join the cause, then your cause is already lost.

Large Business Owners and Managers

[ad#in-post-image-ad]If you have never done the dirty work, imagine what kind of respect you would get from your juniors if you stood beside them and showed them that you are capable.

It is so easy to lose touch with staff that is twice removed from your position because you are so caught up in your own duties. How realistic do you think your directives are if you have forgotten what it’s like to have to wash the crap from under your fingernails? How differently would you look at your employees if you took the time to ask them their opinions about their job? Do you think you could create a more productive staff? Do you think that staff loyalty would shoot through the roof? Give it a shot. You’d be amazed.

The Truth

I watched 1st hand a couple of new entrepreneurs who got into business the 1st quarter of 2008 and was out of business 5 1/2 months later – by letting their ego get in the way of their success.

Rather than learning every single aspect of the job, they barked out orders, sent out accusing emails and singled out a new employee each week to blame their failures on. Yet they never picked up a toilet brush, did the laundry, take a receptionist’s shift or make sales to lead by example.

They showed up to work at 9am, left at 6pm and thought their presence was powerful enough to run a business. They were wrong.

If you are this type of manager, one that hides out in your cubicle an office, then I’m talking to you. And you know who you are. You dread anyone interfering with your everyday routines:

• Walk in the office.
• Say hello to whoever is on the path to the kitchen.
• Get your cup of coffee.
• Chat with whoever’s around the coffee pot.
• Walk the floor.
• Walk to your office.
• Get on your computer and stay there until lunch.
• Your afternoon has a few variations, but is much like what happened before lunch.

How about this instead:

• Walk in the office & say hello to whoever is on the path to the kitchen.
• Get your cup of coffee and say your morning hello’s.
• Plan out your day on your Outlook (or Mac equivalent:-)
• Look over the performance logs.
• Pick out 3 people that you want to coach today. (1 who’s doing exceptionally well & 2 who are not)
• Go out there and spend 5-10 minutes with each person with an agenda and a goal. *Note – make sure to point out positives with each person and schedule 1 & 1 time with them. Remember that those who are doing well need your attention to keep thriving.

After only 1 hour at work, you have contributed to the success of your business whether you own your own or work for someone else. I won’t get too much deeper in the coaching and counseling since we’re veering off the main topic, but you are welcome to email me for a free consult on coaching your staff to success. You’ll be surprised to see that most of the changes will be to your own habits.

But remember, just showing your pretty mug won’t build your business or increase staff production.

And don’t flush your business down the toilet by being afraid to clean one.

Have you ever sat next to someone or even engaged in a conversation with someone who made you feel like you were completely and utterly alone? I had often remarked to my husband in our early years together that I felt like I was by myself so often when we were sitting in the same room. So just because he was there, didn’t mean he was present with me.

We often get wrapped up in the everyday minutiae of life that we forget to live in the present with those that are of value to us therefore devaluing the relationship.

Be what you’re being while you’re being it.

If you are a manager of 25, girl scout troop leader of 12, board member of 10,  mentor of 5, best friend of 2, parent of 3 and spouse of 1 then you may feel like Sybil at times. With the advancements in technology we are expected to do more, learn more, participate more and create more – now. The trouble is, if I’m working on a presentation for my board of directors, I can’t possibly be a good mother at that same moment. If I’m nursing my sick child, I can’t be a good troop leader at the same moment. To think that we can be multiple personalities at the same moment effectively is not a reasonable expectation.

The art of multi-tasking has been corrupted into an unachievable balance between personal and business tasks. And though it may appear that we are getting more done, in actuality, we are digressing and harming our families, our work and ourselves more than creating benefits.

So when you are at work, then be the employee/owner/manager or whatever your role is right now.

But my child is sick…

…so go home and nurse your sick child. If you are so worried sick about your child that you are on the phones all day with your day care or babysitter, you might as well pack up your stuff and get out of there. If you are so preoccupied that you are not present and working at your best, then you’re not doing your company or yourself any good. If you’re trying to ‘mother’ while you’re at work, then you’re not being fair to all parties involved, including yourself.

But I have to get this report done…

…so go into your home office with a do not disturb sign, finish your last page to your report, and come back out to join the family when you are ready to be present with them. Rather than half heartedly play with your kids and spacing because you’re so worried about your project, finish the darn thing and come back.

Are you afraid that you don’t have enough time with your kids? Then make an effort to tuck that report away until you put them to bed. While you’re hanging out with your kids, they need to know that you are with them and not preoccupied.

Whatever you do, do not try to play & interact with your family while you are finishing that report. Both will suffer as a result. Your report will take twice as long and be 1/2 as good while your kids wonder why that stupid report is more important than building Legos.

It’s An Art

One of my first jobs was managing a sports bar when I was 19 (holy cow that was a lifetime ago!) I thought I was a damn great barista, but I remember this gal I hired that kicked my ass in pulling in tips! I was floored because I’ve been known to pull in a few c-notes in my time. So what was her trick? She just knew how to be what she was while she was being it. So when she came in to bartend, she was not a diligent daughter or devoted girlfriend, she was ‘the best damn bartender.’ End of story. She would not only make you a great drink, but when she talked to you, she made you feel like there was no where else she’d rather be and no one else she’d rather talk to – even with a bar full of tipping customers.

Simply: she was present.

The Truth

My post on the magical inbox gave you a little explanation about the Scientology courses I took for a full year & the disclaimer that if I were to join a church, it wouldn’t be the Church of Scientology. But I have to give credit where credit is due. They blew me away with their business courses which I understand that 98% of their congregation never are exposed to any of it. That’s because they’re mainly there for their own self development.

This concept of be what you’re being while you’re being it, which we deployed in my brick & mortar businesses, came directly from L. Ron himself. And truthfully, it gave us all a humbling perspective on our roles in life as dynamite employees, managers, leaders, spouses, parents and friends.

Use this to have a rock solid relationship.

1. Spend time together (away from the kids – even if it’s chatting while they’re in bed)
2. Talk to each other for more than the national average of 12 minutes per day
3. When you’re talking to each other, talk about things other than finances, work and children
4. Be present. Be a loving, doting spouse. Talk to each other like you were dating. Remember that? Ask questions. Ask opinions. Challenge opinions. Relay stories.
5. And most importantly. Have ‘relations.’ Lots of it! And in case I haven’t made my point: when you’re in the bedroom, be that sex-kitten or stud. That is absolutely not the time to be a super-parent or manager…

The other stuff will fall in place.
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Well, wait a minute here. Back to my favorite saying, your outer world is a reflection of your inner being. If you are consistently not getting what you need out of the people you need it from, look within.

I remember this one incident as a teenager where my sister was angry about something and she had called one of us (mom, dad, brother, her husband or I) “stupid.” It was some sort of tirade about something insignificant that escalated to a full blown screaming session. It struck me that at that point, she had called every one of us “stupid” at least once in the past month. I said something like: “Oh, so today, I’m stupid, last week mom was stupid, and dad is stupid, our brother is stupid and your husband is stupid. Gee, and of course you’re the only one that’s not stupid.”

I’m sure you don’t even need to hear the details that surround that story because any objective outsider would see that the name caller is having some unresolved internal issues.

How did everyone get on your shit list?

Have you ever had a day/week/month where everyone just seemed to piss you off? Long moments of time where everyone just frustrated the heck out of you? Did you ever step back to wonder how everyone got on your shit list? Ever think that maybe you created this situation(s)? I know it doesn’t seem possible that you could be the root cause of your own angst. I mean, who would intentionally create chaos and havoc?

Well, if you’re not one of those people who thrive on chaos and turmoil, it could just be that you don’t fully understand the way your communication is being interpreted.

The email you sent to your manager today to ‘please print the retail sales figures & tax report for last month” could be interpreted as ‘pull the retail sales and sales tax report when you get a moment.’ So if you didn’t specify a time, you may get it when it best suits the recipient.

Telling a guy you’re that you’re ‘not seeing anyone else now’ could be interpreted as ‘hmmm, I wonder if she means I have to stop dating other women, but I’m not going to ask.’ So if you don’t specify what you want in return, don’t expect it to be reciprocated.

If you bring a sick friend chicken soup on a Saturday night and believe that is your true expression of friendship because you cancelled your date, then you’ve proven to yourself that you are a good friend. However, don’t expect your good friend to do the same for you when you’re sick if you’ve not communicated it to them. They may think that sending you a ecard is an expression of true friendship when you’re down with the stomach flu.

Communication is often misinterpreted because the communicator is not specific enough in the details of their communications. What I found myself doing after about 6 months of being in business for myself was that I would often repeat what I wanted to have done, asked ‘does that make sense?’ if I got funny looks and then have them tell me their version of what they thought I had requested. It may seem a little strange and redundant, but it also alleviated many of the mishaps I was experiencing prior to taking the extra 90 seconds to go through this drill. The time I saved in not having to undo mistakes was invaluable.

Timing is Everything

Communication is much like a tennis game. The initiator (or server) serves the first communication point, the intended recipient has to return the communication and it volleys back and forth. At any point, if any one of the parties drops the ball, the game is over.

I know this sounds elementary, but it’s not. I know email has been around and widely used for over a decade now. However, email etiquette has not been truly understood. Often times, when people read an email, they don’t acknowledge or respond to it. If you were face to face with your best friend and you said, “I’m so glad we got together last weekend for dinner. I loved your new hairstyle! It makes me want to see my stylist. I wish I had taken a picture.” How would you like it if your best friend didn’t respond to you? What if they just sat there and stared at you or looked off into space? How would that make you feel?

An email communication is still communication; you’re just not face to face. So when someone extends a comment, even if they’re not looking for you to answer a question or if they’re not requesting a document, a simple acknowlegement lets them know that you got it.

Communication in Business

[ad#in-post-image-ad]This same concept applies to business communications as well; though with one extra rule. Business communications should remain professional. Remember; don’t let your emotions run your business. Whether you like and respect a colleague or loathe them, you still have to step back and see that your actions are a reflection of your own character, not theirs. If you don’t reply to a business email because you’re mad at them or they hurt your feelings, then you need to evaluate your position and your behavior. It will hurt your reputation more to hold your communications hostage because your ego got bruised.

Sometimes your lack of a quick response may just be that you need more time to process the data requested or to put your emotions in check. The proper way  to handle that would be to send an acknowledgement of the email and say that you’ll ‘get back to them by (whenever, but stick to it).’ This will buy you the time you need to process your issues or tasks, yet makes you look like the professional superstar with your strong communication skills.

When I understood the power of acknowledgment, I taught all of my staff, from receptionists to managers to send a simple, “Got it.” or “I’ll have it by _________” response to my requests. The really neat part is that when we are all accountable for our communications and actions, we tend to perform at higher levels. Once a receptionist got the new policy about how we make confirmation calls, and acknowledged it, she now has to abide by the policy she acknowledged.

The Truth

Treat your communications professionally. Think about the image you’re ultimately projecting. If you are not communication clearly, effectively and in a timely fashion, then you will create chaos in your environment. If you are constantly in the midst of chaos or hurt feelings or miscommunications and don’t think you are the issue, then you’re probably the issue or your communication just sucks.

Just sign up and I’ll email it to you. I’m not selling you anything today, I promise!

We start to play games with ourselves. In turn we set up rules and expectations for those that we love and we start to play these games which sets those very people up for failure and causing imminent grief – for no good reason.

Here’s the game I played with myself when I was dating my then boyfriend-now husband, Jason:

• If he really loves me, he will open the doors for me.
• If he really loves me, he will call me right after he gets home from work.
• If he really loves me, he will always offer to pay for dinner.

These are just a few examples of my own internal games.  Some that I have discovered amongst my friends are:

• If my kids really loved me, they would come visit me on the weekends without me having to ask them.
• If my kids really loved me, they would call me at least a couple of times a week instead of making me call them.
• If my wife really loved me, she wouldn’t be asleep on the couch every night when I got home from work.
• If my husband really loved me, he wouldn’t go hang out with the guys every Saturday night, he would take me out instead.
• If my friends really cared about me, they would offer to help me instead of making me ask them to because I won’t ask for help.
• If my husband really loved me, he would take the trash out without me having to ask him.
• If my wife really loved me, she would initiate sex at least 3 nights a week and I can initiate the rest.

The list goes on and on. The problem with all of these internal games that we is that they are internal and we expect for the people who love us to know these things instinctually and to perform as we ourselves would have. This sets everyone up for failure and grief. If your loved one doesn’t know that you are expecting something from him or her, then each and every time they fail to perform that task, they have failed you. And each time they fail you, you get upset or you grieve over that fact that they just don’t love you. This becomes a cycle that produces a lot of drama in your own mind and you start to resent that person for not giving you what you need.
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Now take a step back and look at it from an outsider’s perspective:

If I was expecting my then boyfriend-now husband to call me after he got off work every night (we were living 15oo miles apart for the first year we dated) and he didn’t call me exactly as I thought he should’ve every night, what kind of thoughts do you think occurred? As the minutes ticked on it was first: “Oh my god. I hope he is ok. I hope he’s not hurt because he would’ve called me by now.”  Then when he does call and he just happened to be at the gym or went on an impromptu grocery shopping excursion (I know! The nerve of him!) or that he was so exhausted from working a long hard day in corporate America & took a cat nap, then I started to wonder why he didn’t call me right away. Then I started to think: “Well, I must not be that important to him if he doesn’t call me as soon as his work day is over. We do live 1500 miles apart and doesn’t he miss me?”

As time went on, I would just let doubt seep a little bit at a time into a perfectly sound relationship. You see, he failed me over and over and over again, but he had no idea so he couldn’t even address it even if he wanted to.

And OK, we don’t have to address the obvious because I already have years ago. Expecting him to call me every night as soon as he got off work is ludicrous today and it was ludicrous then. But without voicing these issues to him, he didn’t even know there was an issue to address.  How did he know that he was losing “points” every time he failed to call me or open my doors or at least offer to pay for dinner?

How do you keep from being disappointed?

Verbalize. Email. Just communicate. Say it out loud. A couple of things can happen when you actually talk to that person about your expectations rather than play mind games with them (and yourself).

• They actually start to do what you expect – or they’ll do something acceptably close to it.
• You talk it through and you realize that your expectations are not reasonable, and you move on.

I have this friend that plays this game too where she just expects people to offer up their help. The problem is, I never know what kind of help is needed, when it’s needed, or even if it’s needed. I am too busy with my own life that I certainly don’t have time to try to figure out  her all the time.

How does this pertain to business?

Well, I was very guilty of this when I first opened up my salons, so I am speaking from painful experience. I would expect my manager to know when to perform the tasks that I would pass to her, how exactly I wanted them done and in which order without ever telling her the specifics and when she failed to perform up to my expectations I would think, “…well, if she were a good manager, or if she really cared about this place, or if she really understood me, she would’ve XYZ.” I was in constant turmoil about her and it ended badly because I didn’t understand the power of clear and concise communication. I understood communication and believed I was better at it then most, however, I didn’t realize how ambiguous my own communication was.

So when my then boyfriend-now husband would say, “Hey baby, I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier, I fell asleep as soon as I sat down.” and I would answer, “I understand. Don’t worry about it.” Yet had that harmful internal monologue, I was playing a game.

The Truth

We all play games. It’s time to recognize, rationalize and communicate our way through them and stop setting everyone up for failure. If you don’t believe you’ve ever done or don’t do it now, you’re still playing that game.

These games are much like the ego: it cannot coexist with awareness.

What kind of games are you playing now? What kind of games are you willing admit to and are willing to put a stop to?

Remember to fake it till you make it!

What does this mean? Well, first off, when someone asks how your business is coming along they don’t want to hear that your phone isn’t ringing, you don’t know if you can pay the bills this month, you feel like you spent way too much money on advertising and your staff is stupid. They don’t care.

It’s the same as when someone sees you for the first time today and they say, “Hi. How are you?”  They don’t really care. It’s an automatic response. They want to hear you say, “I’m great! How about you?”

Why is this? Most people feel bogged down with enough problems of their own that they do not want to know about yours either.  Especially if you are a chronic whiner.

So when someone asks about your business, they want to hear, “It’s better than I expected!” or “I’m really excited about where it’s going.” etc.

People are attracted to success.

[ad#in-post-image-ad]People like being around successful people. Customers love going to popular places. If you act down and out and worried all the time, people stop enjoying your company and start finding ways to avoid you. Your staff will quit because you will be too depressing to work for. Your customers will stop coming around because they don’t want to frequent a place that might not make it. People who could possibly mentor you and help you in your success will not want to be around you until you change your attitude.

If you want to be successful, act successful. Be graceful, considerate, thoughtful and present in your interactions.

When I opened my first salon, we had 66 clients in our first month. I was ecstatic and worried at the same time since our income was no where near our out flow. I found out that 66 clients is double the usual number for the first month.  However, even though our numbers were growing 50%-300% each month, it didn’t seem quite fast enough with the vast advertising bills we were accumulating.

No one knew of my concerns barring my husband and a business associate. To the world, we were fantastic! We kept up the positive attitude and before you knew it, we were ranked 11th in the world after 6 months, 4th after 10 months and 3rd after 1 year in business.  Keeping a positive outlook and really believing in myself pays in many ways.

If you haven’t watched ‘The Secret,’ you must! It’s more than just thinking positive. It’s being positive!

The Truth

There are a few people in your life that really do want to hear about your downs as well as your ups and help you through the hard times. The majority don’t care. Remembering that in business will help you grow exponentially faster than laying out all of your worries and troubles to everyone who lends an ear.

Being successful starts with acting successful. Fake it till you make it. Start now.

What success story do you have about being positive?
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What 31 years on this earth has taught me thus far about spirituality and religion.

First off, spirituality and religion are 2 different matters all together. I’m spiritual and believe in a power much greater than we are, but I’m not very religious. You can be both spiritual and religious, but you can definitely be one without the other.  I grew up going to different churches because it was a church that sponsored my family over during the war. So I grew up in a very Christian setting going to Catholic, (Southern) Baptist, Methodist and Unitarian churches as well as Buddhist temples. Most of my time in the churches were without my parents.  They’re straight up Buddhist with very old family traditions that will sadly die off with them. 

Glad I Escaped This Would Be Mother In Law

I remember dating this wonderful man when I was about 20. His father was a pastor and had sadly passed by the time we got together.  His mother was remarried…to the guy she cheated on her pastor husband with! She had asked me one night when we were at a small family function what religion my parents were. I told her they were (and still are) Buddhist.

She didn’t say much after that, however, very shortly afterwards, my boyfriend had told me the ranting that went on about my worshipping pagan Gods. How funny that she never asked me what I believed in, but was so ready to make judgements on the person that I was. How very un-Christian like.  Oh, and did I mention that she was married to the guy she cheated on her pastor husband with? Surely that’s not as offensive to God as me believing in Buddha.

The Louder You SCREAM You’re a Christian, The Less of a GOOD Christian You Are

Have you ever noticed those who preface many of their thoughts with, “I believe in God…” or “I’m a good Christian…” or “God laid it on my heart…”? What surprises me are the people that you interact with on a daily basis that are very spiritual beings or who are truly good Christians, that you never even know about.  The reason I say this surprises me because the really good Christians don’t tend to over exaggerate their goodness. They don’t have to. It just emanates from their every day actions.  They’re honest, good natured, kind, caring and helpful to others.  Those that have to say they are these things don’t trust in their own actions enough to show what they’re really about.  Or rather, they must know somewhere deep down that their spewing Christianity and Bible quotes is a total crock of shit and that if they’re not careful, their façade of being a truly good human being will crumble, so they scream louder to draw attention to their words to deter you from looking too closely at their actions.

So it’s taken me years to understand the meaning behind “don’t listen to what people say but watch what they do,” but learn this I have.  And on this topic, it’s loud and clear. I understand more than ever to steer clear of those who have to verbalize their connection with God every other day. 

The Truth

No one cares about what you believe in unless they ask you. If you look for opportunities to push your views on others, then your interpretation of the Bible is as tainted as that Catholic priest who molested 14 boys under the age of 12. You use the word of God for your own means.  If you hide behind God and use him as an excuse for the (poor) decisions you make, well, you ultimately will have to pay the price for that too, so let’s not kick you while you’re down.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that religion has no place in business? Do not sign your emails with, God bless you all, in God, etc. Do not speak to your employees about their beliefs as that will open you up to a whole slew of legal liabilities.  Do not tell your colleagues that, “God laid it on your heart…to only spend $1,500 on advertising.” God doesn’t care about what you spend on your advertising, he’s left that up to you to decide. Yes, this last example was a real live conversation in my life, but I digress…

So, if you want to be understood, try understanding first. If you want others to understand your viewpoint on God, then try seeing why they believe what they believe first. And then, if they ask you your opinion, give it, otherwise, don’t bully me with your personal beliefs.

Amen