What is the Greatest Professional Compliment ?
Compliments. We all give 'em and get 'em. Job well done. I couldn't have done it without you. Those are nice words. But what are these words that make a difference? Well yes, but...
At our shop - we have a saying, "Everyone should be able to do a good job. And everyone should be appreciated for the good job that they do." That's our coda - but it doesn't necessarily mean getting a compliment. It might be a raise, perk or title change. But that's not where I'm going in this article.
I believe the greatest professional compliment is a referral. It could be to another job, a board position or to serve as a resource. Referrals are the bread and butter of business. All business is the business of relationships. So like a good theorem, ipso facto, a referral is the highest compliment.
What do you think? If you agree, have you given a referral to anyone lately? And if not, why not?
Here's my pledge - to work harder at referring my associates whenever and wherever I can, and my prayer is that you do the same for me. Hey - wait. Is that begging. Yeah, I think it is.
But am I wrong to ask for a referral?
Nonfiction writer & director ? Story for orgs + brands
5 年the time I was told by my client that the Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist I put in a promo film for an iPad app (a loooong time ago, when iPad apps were new) cried when he watched it, bc the music I picked reminded him of his childhood in Vienna. (I had no idea, I just picked it bc it was free classical music) ??https://vimeo.com/22517679
Creative director, distilling big ideas into compelling content
5 年Referrals are a great way to complement someone. Just shy of that, the best I ever got was that a difficult interview subject saw the end result, told me "you are not an idiot," and then told everyone for weeks that the film I made about him was "not bad." Truly high praise from him. I'll take it.?
Duty manager in Premier Inn
5 年There is nothing wrong in asking when you know you delivered good service and the other side is benefiting from your service. In my experience you should be very selective who do you refer because those people/companies build your personal brand too. So use it wise and you can get benefits by building your brand and expanding your network.
Flash Frozen Photography - Fun Headshots that speak for you. Portraits that are favorites forever.
6 年A referral is a great compliment.? Having a team of referral partners who not only give you referrals, but, look for opportunities for your business is even a higher form of referral.