One thing that always helps us to stand out in life and in business
is when we appear to have ‘made the effort.’ This simple concept can be
applied in a myriad of ways to a million different circumstances. I
learned this lesson when I was a young girl from my mother, as her
advice to my sister and me was to ‘always put your best foot forward.’
This meant, in those days, dressing appropriately for the occasion,
showing up on time and being prepared. Funny, those lessons don’t
change much as we grow older.
Yet, I am continually amazed at how many don’t ‘make the effort.’
How many times have we attended a formal event only for others to show
up poorly dressed, sloppy and simply inappropriate? How many meetings
have you attended where it is obvious the other party threw something
together right before the meeting trying, though failing, to ‘appear’
together? How many dinner gatherings have you attended only to have
the other parties not engage in conversation or take an interest in you
and what you have to offer to the discussion?
Simply put, if we want to stand out, build our reputation and
‘brand,’ and be in service to others, one easy and obvious step is to
always make the effort and put our best foot forward. This may be in
our dress, our preparation and our engagement in the moment with the
person. Not hard, yet, so many of us don’t make the effort. What a
missed opportunity!