Mom Always Said...

Dotty Coleman & Dawn Coleman Gannon

As a child, I listened to what my mother said – sometimes.

However, as I have gotten older, I often find myself hearing her speaking inside my head when faced with specific circumstances in business and in life.

So, in honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, I’ll share the few words of wisdom from Mom that seem to come to mind most often for me, and apply them to business.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy – Even When It Hurts.

In business, honesty is always the best policy. But how far does honesty need to go when dealing with competitors and others whose focus is not the growth of your business? How much truth do you tell? Is not telling everything you know about a specific topic, project or program honest or even ethical?

I agree that honesty and transparency is always the best policy, but I also realize that some people just don’t need to know some things. 

Building and maintaining a reputation for honesty and integrity is fairly simple – you tell the truth, regardless of whether or not the person to whom you are speaking wants to hear it. 

However, once you cross the line of honesty and move into the gray area of half-truths or outright fabrications, regaining that reputation for honesty and integrity will cost you more in terms of time and resources than you can imagine.

I, for one, prefer to conduct business with businesses and organizations with reputations of high integrity.

Think Before You Speak.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that this is one of the hardest things for me to do.

Many times I hear someone talking, or am reading an email, while at the same time inside my head I am preparing my response so I will be ready to jump out with my words of wisdom when they take a breath. In essence, I am preparing my response based on what I THINK they are saying, when in reality, I am not really LISTENING to what they are saying.

Growing up, my father always said that my brain was 5 steps ahead of my mouth. In support of my mother’s “think before you speak” advice, he was suggesting that I slow down and allow the mouth to catch up to the brain by truly listening to what the other person is actually saying before responding.

As a business owner, I have come to truly understand the value of this advice. After all, how can I provide a service if I don’t fully understand the service my client is seeking? 

One good way to do this is to take notes while listening and then responding by relaying back what you just heard.

For instance, you could say, “This is great! Thank you for asking. Before I respond, let me just ensure that we are on the same page. I heard you say that you need X, Y, & Z and …” This gives you an opportunity to clarify (or catch) information that you may not have heard correctly before moving forward.

Opinions Are Like Belly Buttons – Everyone Has One.

We've all heard this, or used other words in place of belly button. The idea is the same, however. In making business decisions, it is vitally important to consider the issue from as many perspectives as possible – especially those that differ from yours.

I don’t know about you, but every time I make a decision based solely on my perspective, it turns out that I missed something important, and then I have to spend additional time and resources changing course. 

In short, don’t make decisions without examining all the facts and perspectives.

Giving Back is One of the Most Important Things You Can Do.

My Grandmother Levitt,
Dotty Levitt Coleman (my mom),
Me, & Grandma Coleman
at my FCAHS graduation.

When I was in high school at FCAHS in Brooklyn, MS, my mother was a member of the South Central Bell Pioneers Clown Troop. She and her co-workers spent considerable time getting into costume/make up and then driving in a chartreuse-colored Aston Martin to an event for the Special Olympics or another community-focused group.

A few times she picked my sisters and I up from school dressed and driving this car … really.

While you are calming down from busting out laughing at the mental picture the last sentence provided, the important lesson I learned was that giving back to the community and to others makes a huge difference to those to whom you are giving. It also gives you a sense of pride and self-satisfaction.

What does this have to do with business you ask? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a term that has grown in prominence and practice in business over the last decade. What does CSR mean for you? 

That’s easy – pick an organization or organizations that align with your business mission and goal, and support it (them) with time, resources and financial contributions.

Not only will the organization(s) benefit, but so will you and your reputation within the community. It’s a win-win for everyone!

As all mothers do, my mother had many other things to say, but for the moment, I think I’ll stop here and wish all you moms a happy Mother's Day.

To those who are still struggling with infertility on your journey to motherhood, I wish you the peace of knowing you are not on this journey alone, and the knowledge that there are many who have been where you are, and are willing to help you (resolve.org & theafa.org).

In closing, please feel free to comment and/or share your own “Mom Always Said…” wisdom.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.