We haven’t heard from Seth Godin in a while but here’s something I can relate to. He writes,
“I used to dread the uphill parts of my ride. On a recumbent bike, they’re particularly difficult. So I’d slog through, barely surviving, looking forward to the superspeedy downhill parts.”
No argument here. Uphill is work. Downhill is easy. But as Seth points out, you never get bettere going downhill. That’s just gravity at work. In fact, I suppose that as I lose weight I’ll actually lose downhill speed. Bummer!
The way to get better is to focus on the uphills; the hard part. That’s where you pick up time. That’s where you get stronger. That’s where the real improvement comes.
The thing that separates the winners from the losers in professional races like the Tour de France is the ability to climb those Alpine mountains, not the ability to coast downhill.
Of course Seth applies the lesson bo business and you can too. Anybody can handle a happy customer. It’s the unhappy ones that are a real challenge. And they’re the ones who make you better at what you do.
Check out Seth’s blog for his take on this and other topics. Always a good read.
Filed under: Customer Service, Motivation | Tagged: seth godin, small business | Leave a comment »