I had a strategic business partner of a client who is working on a project along with me that deleted my 3 emails sent November 15th. They refused to open or read them because they "didn't know me". When I contacted the individual 3 days later to try to follow up and learned of this, I asked why they would do this when my client was copied on the email also, there wasn't any links or suspicious attachments in the emails, the emails were a simply request for data and to set up a meeting to talk. I wanted to know why would they not at least inquire instead of just assume I was spam or a virus? I was told this was their policy. Period. They asked me to resend the emails and I did.
2 weeks later, I still don't have what I need nor have I gotten a response to the 3 original emails that were resent. I sent a 3rd email to follow up. My client contacted me this morning after getting the email and let me know that because I questioned this individuals business processes 2 weeks ago, they refused to get me what I needed or work with me on the project. I said, wow, I am sorry, I had no clue that trying to learn how someone does business would create such a ruckus. What can I do? My client asked that I please contact them and apologize even though this shouldn't be necessary to create a business relationship, and the person got their feelings hurt and shouldn't have over a simple question, and to try to help them understand my perspective that in 20 Years of being in the Industry I was just shocked at how someone would run their business like this and it was something that has never happened to me before. From my perspective my email subject matters were detailed and specific, not suspicious, and I was trying to learn and understand how they operate and how to connect in the future as we jointly work to fulfill their accounting needs.
I did this. I called, said I am sorry I offended you. I am sorry you got your feelings hurt. I am sorry I made you upset. Can we work this out? Can we try to solve this problem? I don't want to have to do double work. I don't want to have to recreate 4 to 5 years of data. We had a 35 minute conversation and we are back on track!
I share this with you to help remind you that:
Sometimes you have to do things that don't make sense.
Sometimes you have to see it from someone else's perspective.
Sometimes you have to apologize and try to mend hurt feelings even if you never intended to hurt someone or they shouldn't have taken offense to a question.
Sometimes for the sake of the relationship you have to take the high road and go beyond the circumstances and connect.
Sometimes it takes time out of your work and production to share in another's life and help them see you are trying to achieve the same results they are, that you are fighting with them not against them.
Sometimes it takes courage to be the person who can help them see that they were acting like a little child.
We all are a work in progress and it helps if you remember that you have acted like a little child or a brat or a bitch or a witch or hurtful no doubt once before with someone and that the only way to repair anything is to be kind.
How will you choose today to be kind?
How will you live out your life to be courageous, be generous, be loving?
#RelationshipsMatter #ThePowerOfChoice #BeDifferent#ShareInEachOthersLives
