If you nearly died, would your business associates care? Now I know the answer to this question for myself.
On August 10th I walked into the hospital with breathing troubles. It took until November 6th for me to walk back out … actually, I rolled out and am still learning how to walk.
My wife got a call in the middle of the night on August 22nd. She heard me screaming “No ventilator! No ventilator!” The doctor told her I’d be dead in 24 hours without the ventilator. He also told her nobody had survived the ventilator. Tough choice.
She texted my family “Craig’s not coming home.” She called my stepson “Craig’s not coming home.” Sure enough, within a day my kidneys started failing. And my right lung collapsed.
What happened next still leaves me in awe.
Libby started running the business as if it were her own. If you haven’t met Libby, you really should. She’s amazing.
Kevin worked with our clients to make sure their ads were still running and performing. Jason and Luke made sure everyone’s websites were working as they should. Cameron made sure everyone got paid. Andrew and Brad offered to do any necessary copywriting.
Then I woke up.
After nearly two months of atrophy and malnourishment, I couldn’t lift my arms or legs. I couldn’t even speak. But I started hearing stories detailing how kind and wonderful people had been.
As I started rehab, clients visited me in the hospital. And those farther away stayed in touch to track my status and pray for my healing.
It is a miracle. I should be dead. But in life, I’ll share a secret with you.
You don’t have to be a victim to labor scarcity. You just need to treat folks the right way. Years ago, for two major reasons, I committed to a code of how I’d conduct business.
First, it’s the right thing to do. Second, I knew the day would come when labor would be scarce, and I didn’t want to worry about that. And during a time when everyone thought I was going to die, everyone stuck by me. Employees, contractors, and clients.
I wish I could list all the people who showed kindness to me, my wife, and my family. That would take too long. But I will share the code of business that made this possible.
If you nearly died, would your business associates care? If you don’t know the answer to this question, maybe it’s time to make some changes to your business. Please feel free to use any or all of our code of business.
CODE: How to treat contractors
- Ensure all contractors learn more and are better at their job as a result of working with you.
- Pay invoices immediately upon receipt. Always be the fastest to pay your contractors.
CODE: Preamble to the allies4me employee handbook
allies4me is about being the First Choice:
- First Choice in employment.
- First Choice for our customers and clients.
- First Choice for businesses that want to partner with us.
- First Choice for freelancers and contractors who want to work with us.
To achieve this goal, we must embrace the following principles and values that drive our behavior.
Integrity: We will operate with integrity. That means we own our mistakes as much as we own our successes. We always give people credit for their work and creative contribution. We spend our clients’ money as if it were our own. We spend the company’s money as if it were our own. We speak truthfully. We deal with business and interpersonal issues forthrightly – at the lowest level of escalation – directly with the individual. Our actions can be reported on the evening news – – and we will stand confidently and proudly for how we have conducted ourselves.
Excellence: We will endlessly strive to be the best at what we do. We will provide services where we significantly outperform the industry average and will achieve this by mastering the fundamentals and managing the details. Our colleagues will learn from us and vice versa. We will earn the respect of the industries where we perform and the trust of our customers.
Respect: We treat everyone with respect and dignity. We don’t fear opposing views, values or beliefs. In moments of conflict or disagreement, we recognize all people are part of God’s creation and worthy of dignity and respect. We will seek to understand before seeking to be understood.
allies4me will be the First Choice as we embrace these values and have them guide our behavior. We will hold each other accountable to these values – and yes, that includes me as well. If you see me falling short on any of these values, please confidently approach me. I will do the same for you.
Thank you,
Craig A. Andrews
Principal Ally
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