Lovability: How to Build a Business That People Love and Be Happy Doing It

by Brian de Haaff

Promote from within. Build a framework, train people on it, give them the room to grow, then take advantage of that growth. Hire well, build a deep bench, and trust that people will step up when you need them to.

Many companies are built around the idea that to grow value you must manipulate how people perceive your company. Business becomes about creating the appearance of value instead of creating actual value. One is about pursuing valuation — the other is about creating authentic value.

Do not invest time or money in manipulating what people think. First, they will know you are manipulating them and resent you for it. Second, as we have seen in the technology sector, managing perceptions leads to unsustainable companies built on hype — companies that do not survive.

Nothing good was ever accomplished without great effort. The idea that you can work less and build greatness is fool’s gold.

It’s a lot easier to “be better tomorrow” when you have a tailwind, because you are delivering a product that solves a real problem and people love working with you.

If you are appealing to everyone, it means you are not serving anyone particularly well. Not everyone will be a perfect match for you.

If business is not a fit, decline it. This will leave you the bandwidth to work with customers who respect your time and effort as much as you respect theirs.

Miserable people build miserable products and miserable companies.

People who feel respected, appreciated, and trusted will always build better products, give better service, and deliver a better CPE.

Great artists or writers do not produce great work by tailoring it to what they think people will like. They create what speaks to them and if that vision is authentic, other people find their own meaning in it.

Building lovability also means accepting a level of fear and vulnerability. Openness and transparency means you will take it on the chin once in a while. But that is a risk that is well worth the possible return.

If you give an initiative your full effort and fail, most people will appreciate and applaud you for what you did accomplish and forgive what you did not. Plan with the information you have and act.

Allegiance is that state in which the customer feels that you are both on the same side and will expend personal and political capital to go to bat for your company by giving referrals, defending you against detractors, and expanding their relationship with you.

Companies that foster delight/love can maintain higher margins because their customers are willing to pay a premium for a wonderful experience. They often enjoy lower costs because they have happier employees who are intrinsically motivated to complete projects on time and deliver quality. Finally, they grow organically — and often rapidly — through referrals from an unpaid but passionate sales force: customers who love the product and the business.

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