Fair goes both ways!
You and me, not you vs me!
Every interaction I have in business starts with an imaginary set of scales in my hands.
Those scales don’t care about emotion. They don’t care whether I like someone or not. They don’t care who is right or wrong.
They only ask one question:
Are both sides winning?
Staff, customers, or suppliers – it doesn’t matter.
Did they get what they needed? Did I get what I needed?
If the scales feel balanced, I’m happy.
If someone starts carrying more than me, I fix it immediately. That’s not fair.
If I start carrying more than them, I’ll give it a little time to see if the scales level themselves. If they don’t, I act.
Because one thing is certain…
Uneven scales never become balanced by themselves. They only get heavier.
The Filter for Every Relationship
That simple test has become the filter for every relationship in my business.
It also explains why we’ve largely avoided the problems so many small businesses are battling today.
Business owners often talk about entitlement, resentment, people counting every minute, demanding every dollar, but feeling no responsibility beyond what’s written in their contract.
I’ve struggled with it too. Luckily, having the right people overall makes it very difficult for those people to coexist and they don’t last long. That’s a good culture at work.
Whether that’s becoming more common or not isn’t the point.
My job isn’t to complain about it. My job is to build a culture where it doesn’t survive. I’ve always been largely successful at that.
Everyone Should Feel Like They've Won
Our mission has never changed:
“The best business deal is where everyone involved feels like they’ve won.”
That applies just as much to employment as it does to customers.
I’ve had to let customers go in the past – not because they didn’t pay, but because they didn’t understand that we both need to do well. I can’t do relationships where there isn’t mutual understanding.
What I Expect From My Team
I expect a lot from my team because I give a lot to my team.
We pay well. We back our people. We help them through hard times. We invest in good equipment. We create opportunity. We protect our culture.
In return, I expect pride, accountability, ownership, and people who genuinely want the business to succeed.
Not because they owe me.
Because balanced scales only stay balanced when both people keep putting weight on them.
Culture Is What You Enforce
Culture isn’t protected by policies.
It’s protected by the standards you’re prepared to enforce.
Those imaginary scales have never let me down.