I caught an interview where Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, was interviewing Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick fil A. This took place at the Chick fil A Leadercast held on May 7th. Dan said that there “is a high demand for honesty, dignity and respect and a low supply.” He went on to say that any business that can provide something that is in high demand with low supply will be successful.
That led me to apply this concept to how leaders lead. If leaders lead their staff by providing honesty, dignity and respect, what will they get in return? What the staff will respond with will be high performance, initiative, quality and service. Why? Simply because they know their boss will be supportive and appreciative of their efforts; this will lead to very high levels of loyalty.
We have heard for years that employees don’t leave companies, they leave relationships. Generally, employees don’t even think about leaving relationships that are filled with honesty, dignity and respect.
This has also led me to apply this concept to the kind of service that companies provide to their customers or clients. If we all had a value system and culture that had these principles, how different the world would be. Since these are in such short supply however, it would make sense that they get noticed when they are exhibited.
What do you think? Is treating people, employees and customers with honesty, dignity and respect worth it? How are you doing as a leader in providing these elements that are in such high demand but low supply? Let me know!
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