A few lessons we can learn from the Sochi Problems of 2014

The winter Olympics have become a little more interesting to me than usual for a few reasons.

1.  Now that I'm managing this guy I have a whole new appreciation for snowboarding.

2.  The hilarious social media posts from visitors and athletes attending the games with the hashtag #sochiproblems attached to photos.  Quite entertaining BUT also very eye opening...

With social media giving us the ability to basically post in real time what real issues are it is almost like modern technology's way of FORCING us to take a look at our practices and go back to those roots that everyone was brought up with.  "The customer is always right"  "Don't promise what you can't deliver"  "Treat others as you would like to be treated"....

I grew up in New Zealand - a pretty small country with only just over a 4 million person population (40 million sheep population!! hah!).  When you grow up in small places reputation will travel quickly and it is SOOO important to make sure that you are delivering what you promise to people and not biting off more than you can chew.  

Although I've had a few laughs I do feel sorry for the people of Russia and the city of Sochi - I'm sure that they wanted to project an image of Olympian grandeur but perhaps it just wasn't their time to shine - they probably should have waited a few years and saved quite a few athletes & visitors some massive headaches.

The lessons we can take from this... again (especially in business but also in your personal life) try not to bite off more than you can chew!  when you make promises, offer realistic ones that you are capable of keeping rather than promising the world that you cannot produce.  We can also learn to not give a false impression of who we really are or what our business really consists of... because people will find out and it will hit the fan at some point.  Be honest in your business dealings, go back to those old fashioned ways of delivering a really good solid product or service 100% instead of making flashy websites and creating an amplified version of what you really are.  

The best businesses that I know have kept to those good old fashioned "Mom & Pop" rules and used technology & social media to boost their solid reputations.  

Forget the bling bling & the fancy cars (unless that's your business!! lol) and go back to the grass roots of service... I promise you won't have any #sochiproblems turning up in your life any time soon!!!