A Story for a Rainy Monday Morning

There are, as always, there are several versions of this story and it's perfect for those,  dull rainy mondays, when your to-do list is growing as you look at it, when the promised cheque has not yet arrived, when you are wondering exactly why you set yourself up in business in the first place. 

There was a gardener who ran a small nursery business. They did bit of contract gardening, landscaping, sold local grown produce. His wife and father worked there, his nephew and his wife. The staff were happy, and customers loved to visit the shabby old big shed they used as their shop, or to have the staff work on their gardens or make deliveries - anything from trees to tie ups. It wasn’t exactly a shiny garden centre with the coffee shop and home furnishings.

For as long as anyone could remember though , the current owner and his father and his father before hime were extremely positive enthusiastic people.

Most people assumed that this was because the business was doing really well. But they had a secret. Their business was indeed pretty good, although they had their share of tough times like everybody else.

What never changed however was the staff’s attitude, and the fact that they would always wear a big blue badge. On it was written the words Business Is Great!

Everyone who saw the badge for the first time would ask the obvious question "What's so great about business?" Or then proceed to dump on them just about how bad it was for them, their problems, or just how stressful and depressing it all was. 

The Business is Great badge always tended to start a conversation, which generally involved the wearer talking about lots of positive aspects of business and work, for example:

• they meet new people everyday and got to know them and their stories
• how much fun it was to share problems with your colleagues and work through them
• finding great new staff and sharing your experience with them
• the fun and laughter in a relaxed and healthy work environment for 
• the fascination in the work itself, and in the other people's work and businesses
• the brilliant feeling when you finish a job and have done the best you can
• learning new things  every day - without going to school or studying
• and the thought that everyone in business is blessed - to have the opportunity to have a choice, the safety, health, lack of hunger, that millions around the world don’t share

The list went on and on. After just a couple of minutes listening to all this infectious enthusiasm and positivity even the most down hearted, miserable listener would begin to smile.

But if you ask the owner what the real secret of his business was was he would say quietly, so no one else could hear.

"The badge came first. The great business followed."

Have a great week.