Business Lessons Taught by Children

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I have eight-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. I try to bestow upon them my values and wisdom, but I also recognize that, if you let them, kids can be great teachers. Here are a few examples of business lessons I’ve learned from interacting with my children.

Sales

If you don’t think you’re going to get a “yes,” find someone new to ask. Kids quickly learn which parent says “yes” to which questions. My wife lets the kids eat in the living room in front of the television. I let the kids have an impromptu lemonade stand. My wife lets them go swimming in their underwear.

Great salespeople find the people capable of saying “yes”. Often when selling to a business, there are people who block your progress. Don’t give up. Search for the person capable and willing to say “yes”.

Public Relations

We have a rule in our house that if one of the children does something that hurts the other, that child gets to choose the punishment. It can be as severe or mild as they choose. Pulling hair could get you five minutes in the corner, or six months in your bedroom.

Surprisingly, they are far more lenient on each other than their parents. You see, they know that someday the shoe will be on the other foot. Someday the judge will become the convict. They have created a balance of justice where we seldom have to discipline them for crimes against each other.

Too often we see businesses attack their competition in one form or another. Ultimately you garner more respect out of leniency and mercy than you ever will out of punishing them when you have the opportunity. Your audience will view you favorably if you build up your competition, then calmly explain why you think your company is better.

Establishing Value

My children each have the opportunity to earn $6.00 per week with a handful of daily and weekly chores. Recently they’ve been more helpful around the house as they grow and their abilities improve.

My son said to me the other day when I asked him to help out, “I’m going to help you, Papa, but you realize this isn’t part of my allowance.”

It’s great to go the extra mile for your customers. But when you do, make sure they understand the value of your time. We encourage our clients to exceed customer expectation whenever possible. At the same time we know giving something away for free often creates the perception of worthlessness for that service. Be subtle, but remind your customers that everything you do has value. This will prevent you from being taken for granted, plus improve the perception of value in the minds of your customers.

This can be particularly true for creative companies where, literally, time is money. Make sure that your best customers understand the value of something that costs you time.

Be Imaginative

A few days ago my son was playing with a variety of action figures. I asked him what he was playing. He looked at me perfectly straight face and said “Army Pirates Robots Aliens and Ninjas”.

I said “Well, where does the dinosaur fit?”
“That’s not a dinosaur, it’s a pirate.” Upon closer examination, Tyrannosaurus Rex clearly had an eye patch drawn with a black marker.

There are rules in business. There are standards. There are operating procedures, but don’t be afraid to be imaginative. Do things differently than you have in the past. Do things differently than your competitors. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities. And when all else fails, draw an eye patch with a black marker.

There are business lessons everywhere. You can learn them from eight -year-olds and 88-year-olds. Pay attention to the world around you and constantly think about what it’s trying to teach you.

What are some business lessons that you have learned from unexpected places?