As a business professional, you are constantly being enticed by new ways to be successful and create profits. You want a profitable business. You want to offer extreme customer service. You want to improve the quality of your services with less mistakes and create more effective use of your time. It’s easy to make those decisions, when you know how your business flows.

Ask yourself, does the decision flow with my business model?

There’s an acronym to help you filter out your decisions on whether or not a new opportunity is a good investment for you. A helpful quote from Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Motor Company helps bring decisions into a new perspective: “Don’t add costs unless it adds value to your customer”. To grow your business, your business must FLOW.

F – Friend or Foe. Is this good for my customer or will it alienate them? Can I go back to the drawing board and make this a win-win situation for my business and for my customer? If not, it’s a waste and needs to be discarded or re-worked so the customer wins.

L – Leading the Way. Does this decision set me apart from my competition so it’s better for my customers? Is it setting a good example for those who follow me? Does it lead the way for bragging customers?

O – Opportunity Costs. Is this a great opportunity for adding value to my customers?
If I spend money on this decision, is it driving me away or leading me closer to my customer relationships? Sometimes, we need to forsake immediate returns in favor of long-term customer relationships. Benjamin Franklin said “A penny saved is a penny earned”. The same is true for your customers; A customer saved, is a customer earned.

W – Worthwhile Use of Time. If it takes time and doesn’t add value to your customers, it’s a waste. Use your prime time for connecting with customers rather than with tasks that don’t add value to them. Do you recognize your prime time hours for connecting with your customers?

Toyoda said “Everyone should tackle some great project at least once in their life. You should make an effort to complete something that will benefit society.”

When you take the time to add value to individual consumers, you are adding value to society. When you help others, you create loyal customers, and that helps your business.