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Reap your harvest
Are you sowing the right seeds?
By Fred Koury
Smart Business Akron/Canton | March 2002
We reap what we sow and we sow what we reap.
What do you think this expression means?
The word "sow," according to the Webster dictionary means, to scatter for growing; to plant seed; to spread or scatter for growth.
You are always sowing either for good or for bad, whether you realize it or not. All things come to light in due time -- maybe not in the timeline we would like to see it in, but in God's timeline.
One recent example is the Enron fiasco. This energy company, with its accounting firm and others, was not honest with the way it reported its finances. What you may not know is that several years ago, it got rid of its core value statement it was using as the foundation for its management principles.
We all know what happened next: Disaster for the company, its leadership and its employees. They were sowing bad seeds. We must take responsibility for our actions. Too often we look outside ourselves and blame others. If you sow blame, you will reap it as well.
It's time to quit passing the buck. Start taking responsibility for your own happiness.
Listed are five areas we sow each day in the business world. We need to be aware of what kind of seeds we are sowing because the seeds we sow today will affect us tomorrow.
1. Treat your employees well. Your employees are a reflection of yourself. If you treat them badly, they will treat your customers that way. Show them the dignity and respect they deserve, and those ideals will take root throughout the company.
2. The customer is always king. Are you treating customers the way you should? Remember, the most effective advertising is word-of-mouth, and the only way to get that is to treat every customer like royalty.
3. Treat vendors as partners. If you treat them fairly, they will do the same for you.
4. Be happy for your peers. Don't sabotage the success of others with petty jealousies.
5. Be grateful to God for your lot in life. We have a much better life than many others in this world.
The measure you use with others will be the same one used with you. Treat others the same way you'd want to be treated if your positions were reversed.
Today is a good day to start making sure you are sowing good seeds.
