Live By the Sword, Die By the Sword
A massive scandal broke out in my city yesterday. Then, in mere minutes, it became a national scandal. Protests were quickly organized, and idealizations of riots were discussed on social media. Then, the inevitable happened. Local companies began drawing lines in the sand and making bold proclamations on their business social media accounts. Not the owners' pages, not the employees' pages, but the actual business pages.
One of my close friends sent me a sharp, but concise assessment that sums up his perspective (and mine): "Live by the sword, die by the sword."
This is a topic I've written about at length. Whenever a company decides to embody human values and shove them down the throats of its customers, two things will inevitably happen:
Current and prospective customers who share said values will be immediately attracted to the business. They will throw "support" at the business by posting about it on social media, buying something from the business, and/or giving a good review of the business on Google or another review website. I call this living by the sword.
Current and prospective customers who disagree with said values will be immediately revolted by the business.They will likely never engage with this business again, drag the business through the mud with whatever influence they have, and/or give a terrible review. I call this dying by the sword.
Here's the problem about living by the sword and dying by the sword. It's not a zero-sum game. When businesses lose a customer due to these practices, the customers are gone forever (possibly taking others with them). However, when a business gains a customer due to these practices, the customer likely won't remain a customer.
Why? Any "support" someone shows a business as a result of a company projecting certain values is fleeting. It's not builton trust, competency, or tangible value. Relationships not built on excellence are temporary or false relationships. It likely doesn't have legs.
I've watched so many of my friends torch their businesses to the ground by living by the sword and dying by the sword. It doesn't take much to move the needle in a negative direction. At first, it doesn't feel like it's hurting all that much. "I don't need their business anyway." Slowly but surely, though, the business feels the impact. A little this month. A little next month. It's not the end of the world, though! Then, before they know it, it's getting harder and harder to connect the financial dots. I've seen it so many times, and unfortunately, I'll continue to see more of it.
Here's the alternative: pursue excellence. Serve people well. Add value to their lives. Make a positive impact on their day. All the people! The people you love AND the people you might hate (if that's something you're feeling). Just be excellent.....period. Excellence always wins. If we do that, the rest will take care of itself. However, if we decide to live by the sword, we'll eventually die by the sword.
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