Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Bud Bilanich. He's known as the "Common Sense Guy" and the author of a great business book; Straight Talk For Success. After reading his book it's obvious why he's known as the "Common Sense Guy." It's full of wonderful, common sense information that many people in companies and corporations often forget about - it would serve the business world well for people to read Bud's book.
But that's not what I want to focus on here - I want to focus on Bud, the human being. You see, I reached out last week to this complete stranger from Denver via email, wanting some information. Normally, when I reach out to someone for help I get a short email back with the information I needed and that pretty much ends our connection. Bud was different. He not only responded quickly but he wanted to speak about it on the phone.
Sounded good to me. I much prefer connecting with a live person since I believe it's the next best thing if we can't meet in person. By the time we were finished talking we decided to exchange our books with each other.
What Bud did next blew me away. He wrote about and recommended my book in his blog. So why am I sharing this with you? Because Bud is one of those rare people in the world of business, and life, who walks his talk.
He believes in authentic relationships. He believes in giving without expecting anything in return. And in his Building Strong Relationships chapter he says:
- Be truthful.
- Get to know other people - really know them.
- Help people succeed.
- Be a friend.
- Tell stories. Stories make people human.
- Live in the human moment. Attend the emotional needs of the people with whom you are interacting.
Bud elaborates on these points in Straight Talk For Success and as simple as they may seem, the fact is, people don't always live by such common sense advice - especially when they're wanting something for themselves. It's really easy to forget, in a world that is full of people wanting to get ahead in life, that when you're willing to do for others without the expectation of something in return, relationships can and do flourish. And the truth is, you never, ever know where that will lead you.
I invite you to see where you can build a strong or even stronger relationship - especially in business - without wanting anything in return. And then, be willing to make a habit of it. I promise you, it does pay dividends - even if those dividends are just feeling good about yourself!
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