Lessons From My Dog: On How to Run A Business

Yoko is not a perfect example of discretion. Yoko is a bouncy, happy, young Golden Retriever who doesn’t think twice about running into me when she wants to play. She takes a minute or two to move from crazy to calm after she sees somebody she likes or another dog.

Yoko loves every person she sees along with dogs, cats, squirrels and anything that has eyes, fur or moves. These activities produce huge rewards in self-esteem and creating friends. She has learned, however, that I am a guaranteed provider of dinner and she makes her choice accordingly.

Now, let’s see how that applies to you. You have a job and a company and need to keep finances in the black so all the company employees continue to get paid. Getting paid is good.

You deal with prospective tenants, patients or clients on a regular basis and need to make decisions as to their future relationship with you and your company. You want the business, but don’t want to miss dinner. How would Yoko deal with these prospects? She would greet them enthusiastically, showing them she believes them to be good people. She would let them pet her because it makes both her and the prospect feel good. When everybody feels good things have a tendency to go right.

In your case, this makes your job, whatever it may be, easier. Your kindness and empathy will put the prospect at ease. At the moment you are the company to the prospect and all the good vibes you can generate will make your job easier and more successful.

So far, so good, but eventually you need to check out this prospect to evaluate their potential to hurt your company. You don’t want that to happen and some very friendly prospects don’t care if it happens as long as they get what they want. What would Yoko do? Well, she is a dog. It would take a while, but eventually, she would look to me for the next move. She goes with what she knows. I am her best shot at being fed, groomed, and loved.

Prospects may ask you to trust them in many ways. They could mention that they are friends with your boss, drop hints about their financial success, or hide behind false information. You will not be able to tell the difference between those who meet your qualifications and those who don’t but don’t concern yourself. Trust has absolutely nothing to do with checking a prospect's qualifications.

Be pleasant but insist on the information you require and make sure everything on your application is filled out including signatures. Get a photo ID and make a copy; any copy machine or cell phone will do. You can print it out later. You need to check things out so you can be fairly sure the prospect will not steal your supper. Yoko would not like that and neither would you. Never stop being cordial but don’t confuse it with trust. Just ask Yoko who, right now, is sitting next to me waiting for dinner.

ABOUT EXECUTIVE CREDIT MANAGEMENT, INC.

Executive Credit Management is a full-service Debt Collection and Applicant Screening agency with over 30 years’ experience located in New Jersey and we service most U.S. locations. We provide excellent service in the following areas: Employment Screening, Business Screening, and Tenant Screening. Executive Credit Management belongs to a number of Skip Tracing databases and offers services to help locate and confirm the current address of missing debtors. Other services provided are: litigation evaluation on all lawsuit decisions, improvement of the quality of the applicant data, Lawsuit Monitoring, Handling of Debtor Disputes. Executive Credit Management features the best Call Monitoring System in the Debt Collection industry.