Apparently the Parisian summer Olympics is a literal “shit show” with Paris Poop Protesters organizing a “movement” to take a dump in the Seine to show their displeasure with their government spending $2.2 billion to try to clean it up for the swimming competitions.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for decades because the river is too toxic for people (or fish) to swim in due to raw sewage being pumped into it for years, and it has subsequently become a breeding ground for E. coli and other disgusting bacteria, as well as a dumping ground for trash and old bicycles, perhaps a body or two.
This reminds me of a great book I’ve recommended to clients for years, Broken Windows, Broken Business, where the author, Michael Levine, explains why small transgressions and oversights in quality control and management eventually lead to total and complete disasters in business.
The title of the book is based on social psychologists and criminologists reporting that if a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, soon thereafter the rest of the windows will be broken – and the perception will build that nobody cares, which invites more vandalism. It’s believed that eventually crime in that neighborhood is out of control, which then leads to the invitation of more serious offenses and crime. Giuliani put this principle into play in New York, instituting a “zero tolerance” policy that dramatically reduced crime rates in New York City by 56%.
Of course, the same principle applies to business: You get what you tolerate. Small transgressions and simple mistakes made by employees that are overlooked, unaddressed and allowed to continue send a signal to employees that low standards are acceptable, which then lowers the standards for ALL employees across the board, driving out “A Players” on your team who cannot and will not work alongside lazy, sloppy, unprofessional colleagues, turning YOUR business into a “shit show” as well.
But employees aren’t the only folks pooping in your pool…
Many MSPs end up with a festering cesspool of a business with low margins and no growth because of the clients they accept and tolerate. Right now, 28% of MSPs are NOT PROFITABLE, despite the fact that IT is a necessary service that businesses cannot operate without. But if you allow your business to be overrun with mediocre to outright “crappy” clients who are hypersensitive to price, don’t pay on time, refuse to follow your advice, constantly complain and insult your employees, you do NOT have a clean and healthy “pool.”
I would also add that your daily frustration is much higher, and your anxiety over money and a client getting compromised under your watch (due to inadequate cyber) is exponentially greater, than those with profitable, compliant clients.
Know this: The success of your business rises and falls on the quality of client you attract and accept, and if you’re not constantly grooming your client base by strategically and intentionally developing the good ones and routinely firing the bad ones with a zero tolerance policy, you’ll end up with a river full of fecal matter because the bad ones are constantly taking a giant dump on your productivity and profits.
As Dr. Qubein taught me years ago, who your customer is today is a piece of data. Who your customer SHOULD BE is a piece of STRATEGY.
If your MSP is currently full of “poop protesters” and you want to know how to attract, develop and retain what we call HVCs, or “high-value clients,” then it’s critical that you register and attend our upcoming 2-day MSP Marketing Roadshow event, where I’ll be giving you a specific blueprint for how to grow a healthy, profitable business by implementing strategic marketing, sales and customer development systems that produce HVCs.
On day two of the Roadshow, we’ll be covering another must-know topic: how to use A.I. in your marketing to generate more website traffic, leads and customers faster and cheaper than ever before. My team has invested thousands of hours into researching and developing a toolkit of A.I. tools, prompts and processes that you’ll be able to implement instantly on the plane ride home. Seating is limited, so don’t miss it.
