Your Brand Is Your Promise
My father grew up in Minnesota during the Great Depression. His father and mother had farmed in Montana, persevering through locusts, droughts and troubles with local Native Americans; they went bankrupt twice. Finally, with a wife and now five children to feed, my grandfather relocated to the iron range in northern Minnesota where he could earn a living cleaning out railroad locomotive boilers.
In Minnesota, Dad’s family built their house, hunted for their food and fought their way through the Depression years. He learned about frugality and the value of hard work, emerging from that era with a strong sense of what is most valuable in life.
After serving in World War II, Dad married Mom, worked full time, and went to night school for eight years to earn his electrical engineering degree. About half way through this period, I arrived on the scene. What a joy it must have been for him to work all day, then go to school, and then finish homework while I was wailing away in the next room. I often wonder if my father could have persevered if he had not experienced the trials of his youth in the woods of Minnesota.
Dad lived in accordance with his values, earning success as a husband, father and businessman. He was always a teacher as well, sharing ideas and the principles that guided his life. He often reminded me about his most essential core value, and during my life and career, I have learned that he was right:
“Son, nothing is more important in life than keeping your word. When you make a promise, keep it. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, but when you have promised to do something, you get it done. Your reputation for keeping your word is what folks will remember about you; they will trust you and be honored to know you.”
Being successful is all about keeping your promises.
How do you ensure that you are keeping the promises
made to your customers?
made to your customers?
