Relationships Are Everything

Relationships are Everything

Great leaders are clear about their values and our number one value is "Relationships are Everything".   Relationships are the foundation of our lives, our families, our businesses and our nations.  Ask a dying person, someone who is grieving a loss of a loved one or the birth of a new child what is most important?  We know that relationships are the glue, the passion, the love in life.   We all have limited assets; in a business anyone can enter and compete with us.  Relationships are the cement of a business, a family and a community.  In fact, relationships are in my opinion, the most important asset that we have!  Whether the relationship we have with our creator, our parents, friends or other loved ones – relationships are everything!

Time and commitment are the most important keys to building great relationships.  First, taking the time to care to share your lives with your family, friends and associates - your challenges and victories - both personal and private are critical to developing a strong relationship with most personality types.  Second, keeping your commitments is a critical component of cementing a relationship.  Making sure that we honor our relationships is a critical long term best practice.

One key strategy that we use to ensure that we follow this commandment is the use of weekly scheduled meetings and regular follow up with our teams.  Leadership and relationships are connected directly – we cannot lead powerfully without great relationships.  Positive change best happens in a relationship sharing feedback and results and striving for positive progress.  We establish this habit with  Student Works and we hope our leaders maintain this habit for their careers.

I also believe that a key part of developing relationships is sharing your life with people.  Being authentic with your team, sharing your wins, your struggles and your life with people draw them closer.  When people are closer we can more powerfully impact them.  We must also spend time with people, break bread together, socialize, roll up our sleeves and work with them to develop our relationships.

               We have just returned from our top performers trip in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico.  It is truly inspiring to see the wonderful relationships created and developed during our stay.  We spent time at meals, at fun activities, golf, visiting ruins, fun activities, shopping and night clubs.  The vast majority of our trip members are returning and I know an enormous reason for our Operators returning is because of the great relationship that they have established.  It feels awesome to have great people to work hard with, share best practices and encourage each other to strive for greatness!