Loyalty matters more than ever today. How we treat our colleagues, clients, and employees is what defines us. The temptation to alienate each other has never been greater. Whether it is to chase after a particular client, enter into another line of business, reinterpret (i.e., copy) an idea, or to support a particular business, loyalty is always in the picture. Ironic, the more interconnected we all get, the tighter our worlds become. If you choose to betray anyone (yourself?), you cannot hide. It is not a question of if you will be discovered, but when. All of which then focuses the question on what exactly is loyalty these days and what place does it have in your creative business.
With a closed circle of clients, colleagues and vendors, loyalty could be about platitudes, servitude and undying fealty. Kiss the ring until you become king. No longer. There would be too many rings to kiss and the king’s realm shrinks every day. Today, loyalty has to be about fortitude, integrity and conviction in all that you do. You are loyal to a colleague and they to you when you work stridently to add value to each other’s businesses. The better they look, the better you look and vice-versa. You honor each other by acknowledging that no favor has been done by either of you. Nobody owes anyone anything. That said, the choice to be derivative (i.e., go work with a competitor, be a copycat, etc.), is as much a statement about your willingness to compromise yourself and your creative business as it is about betrayal. And in that betrayal you stay stuck and soon to be stuck in reverse.
Loyalty today is about growth. Moving the community forward. Working together to collectively bring each other to the next level. If your creative business is perpetually in the role of vendor, you will be marginalized. Who cares if you are an awesome caterer? I could just as soon hire Peter Callahan, Olivier Cheng, Great Performances as I could Eduardo Kohlmann. Doing an amazing job is a given. Figuring out how to help you stretch your art with theirs is what you pay for. When each member of a community acts in this way, the easier it will be for your art to transcend its medium. Why wouldn’t you buy a vase from Eduardo if it supports your design and enhances the presentation of his food? You will look better because of his effort.
So when you leave the community today, because of ego, greed, or just sheer myopia, you will be on the outside looking in. More and more, creative businesses understand that if Peter, Olivier, Liz and Eduardo have to compete solely on the price of a shrimp cocktail, we all lose. The commitment to a better state of being is the foundation of loyalty today. It is also the only place remaining (thankfully) for sustained value for creative businesses and clients alike. When you betray that loyalty because someone pays you money, you think you can do what they do or you think you have to if you are to compete, enjoy the rear view mirror. Much better to know how much farther you can go without ever having to kiss a ring, but by designing a better necklace.
{ 3 comments }
“The commitment to a better state of being is the foundation of loyalty today.” I like this and it’s representative of a new generation of consumers. Millennials (who now outnumber the Boomers and as of 2007 are also the majority clientele for wedding professionals) are commonly regarded as being disloyal. However, most of them want to be loyal to a business but, having grown up with the Exxon Valdez spill, Enron scandals and constant headlines of corporate greed, are looking for “compass brands” – companies that act with integrity not just in product and process but environmentally, socially, and “doing unto others as you would have them do to you.” Less than 9% of this generation will spend money with a company that they do not feel is ethical, and to your point, businesses have a chance to win clients for life simply by doing the right thing on a consistent basis. This entire shift in mindset (not at all new, just a return to good old-fashioned values) is fascinating to me and makes me optimistic about the future of not just the industry, but the country.
Wow…are you a mind reader? Every time you post something it is THE EXACT issue I am struggling with at that exact moment! You are Yoda Sean! Seriously, scary.
Well said Mr. Low! Thank you for the excellent post. Very timely.