If you have yet to hear of Zig Ziglar, he was a motivational and sales speaker and success coach. If you Google “Zig Ziglar quotes,” you’ll find over 100 amazing pieces of insight. He helped improve millions of people’s lives, including yours truly.
As a young salesperson, I listened to Zig all the time. He was the king of quotes, and one that has stuck with me over the years is: “You can get whatever you want out of life if you just help enough other people get what they want.” I love this quote, and I have found it to be so true throughout my career.
At Schnizzfest, I spoke about “linchpins” — people you meet who are the right people at the right time. Linchpins make all the difference in our lives and careers. The problem is that you rarely know whether someone will become a linchpin, so you must treat every person as a linchpin. I think this is what Zig was getting at — seek first to help those around you get wherever they want to go and ask nothing in return.
As employers, we are responsible for helping each team member grow in value, even if that means eventually leaving. We are responsible for creating opportunities to keep good people, but we must prioritize their needs.