Maya Angelou’s quote seems so appropriate for what the world is going through right now.
People are getting “defeated” every day.
I don’t know about you but my Facebook feed went from a beautiful celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Sunday to being littered with fear-filled COVID-19 related posts on Monday.
The way we look at our “defeats” makes all the difference.
Years ago I received a termination letter from one of our biggest accounts. It was a customer the team and I had spent significant time growing and nurturing. It was an assisted living chain with twenty facilities—an account that represented about 20% of our business.
This was the first time in my professional career that I was faced with such a huge loss.
My emotions swung like a pendulum. From anger to disappointment, to despair, and then back to anger.
The committee in my head was working overtime in trying to get me to see everything bad as a result of this huge loss.
Then my attention turned to our pharmacy’s number one value that drove all aspects of our behavior:
“Treat others better than we expect to be treated.”
I then adjourned the committee meeting in my head, got off my emotional pendulum, and informed our team that we were going to send flower arrangements to each facility in the chain with a note attached thanking them for their business and letting them know we would be there for them if they ever needed us again.
We got the account back in less than one year.
I love the opening quote by Maya Angelou.
Defeats often turn into victories if we handle them the right way.
In this time of amped-up emotions commit to keeping the words of R.J. Palacio flowing through the “news feed” in your brain…
When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.
Luke 6:31, “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
