Letters from a Perfect Imperfectionist

All day I’ve been watching suits.

Charcoal, black and blue.

With devices.

Smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Everyone looks tired and lined and grey or blotchy red and just a tad overweight.

On their devices pictures of children, lovers, pets and places.

Covered in the chicken pox of icons.

A family is now a background.

The suit in front of me is carrying a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and chatting politically to his fellow traveller about portfolio risk management.

This morning the trains were late.

This evening its the planes.

Chain-store coffee is consumed by the gallon along with pre-dinner muffins and cakes.

“I’ll be late, what’s for supper.?”

Post, tweet, update, message, email, snap, photograph.

Keep a close eye on your in-box.

Don’t miss a thing or you may not be missed.

I reflect on the blessing of my work, my clients and my schedule.

I’m not in the financial machine, not clawing my way up through grades, don’t have to connect if I don’t want to, dress how I like and take time off the grid.

Say what I like, when I like, to whom I like.

I use devices, travel a lot, work long hours, absorb stress.

But I never feel like my surrounding fellow passengers look.

I saw my first at Glasgow Airport last Tuesday and since then its been haunting me.

The devil says, “think of how cool it would be for watching movies, reading periodicals and you already have an origami stand and a wireless keyboard.”

The angel says, “you have a Macbook Air that you love, it will mean carrying around the iPad Air, the stand and the keyboard as well as all your existing stuff (plus the various power cables and chargers) because you won’t leave your Macbook Air at home when you travel – you prefer the laptop for spreadsheets, content creation and other functions.”

The devil says. “you can get a student discount with one of your kids.”

The angel says, “it won’t work on the stereo base when you are ironing on a Sunday.”

The devil says. “you deserve it.”

The angel says, “you are having a lean year and when you emerge from the store you will suffer from buyers remorse.”

Decision made – no stress, no iPad Air.

Thank you Annie B – you are such an angel.

THIS POST CONTAINS BAD LANGUAGE – DO NOT READ IF YOU WILL BE OFFENDED.

Its very unusual for me to have any spare time on my hands – almost every email or call I get from clients and contacts starts with “I know you are busy but could you……”

The team at 7connections know different and “get it” that I’ve been busy for 43 years and that I get stuff done to deadlines almost all the time.

The appearance of busy-ness can be a blessing and a curse. Some prospective clients find it attractive, others the opposite.

We all end up working with patients/clients who find us attractive (in the holistic sense I hasten to add).

I enjoyed an interesting exchange with an existing client the other day which began with:

“I think you are great but my associate thinks you are a wanker.”

Its always good to get feedback – it helps you to develop your brand and your business model.

Of course, I had to ask what evidence the second opinion was based on – and, having put my chin out – it was firmly punched:

“He thinks that hiring you is a waste of time because your track record in business has been very patchy over the years – some of your business ventures have fallen apart – so why would you hire a guy like that to tell you how to run your business?”

This raises an interesting observation.

Are we to be judged on how successful we are personally – or on the difference we make to other people’s lives and businesses?

And if the two results are very different – does it matter?

The facts upon which the associate has based the assessment are accurate. I’ve created three very successful businesses over 30 years – and – have suffered three grim catastrophes (and I’ve never made a secret of that).

That is a glass half empty conversation I suppose – you have all read my posts (and info-graphics) on snakes and ladders in business.

The glass half-full conversation is about the results I get for the clients I work with – and in that department I’m going to claim well over 80% success in making those lives and businesses much better.

We’ve been rigorously asking for testimonials recently as part of our marketing – and the responses have been hugely inspiring for me personally.

My client is right – I’m great at what I do.

And like Robert the Bruce’s spider – no matter how many times the web breaks, I will keep on spinning and weaving.

His associate is right – I’ve been a wanker sometimes.

Will the reader who hasn’t please raise their hand (if you’ll pardon the expression)?

Sadly, I’ll be unable to attend the Private Dentistry Awards tomorrow as we double-booked our first Mastermind Meeting just a short distance away.

While many of my friends are quaffing a superb lunch – I’ll be continuing and beginning the coaching journey for 8 practices at The BDA.

To all those short-listed at the awards, my congratulations – you are already winners.

To those who win – don’t let it go to your head – somebody in dentistry who you don’t know and have never worked with will be calling you a wanker behind your back as well.

They will, of course, be right.

It is the price you pay when you make a positive difference.

But fuck them – and enjoy the moment.