One of the most dominant keys to success in our businesses and lives are our relationships.  Whether you are a self-employed business owner, entrepreneur or solo professional the quality of your relationships will end up defining you. 

As a personal business coach there are many small business tips I could give you but one of the most important has to do with managing your relationships.  Whether you are starting up your own business or running a small business your business success, more often than not, is determined by the quality of your relationships and your skill at business relationship management. 

Keys To Success:  What Is Your Plan Of Action?

In a previous post we looked at making a list of your relationships and determining if they were nice, nasty, necessary or a combination.  We looked at prioritizing them in terms of importance. 

One of the basic keys to success and happiness is having a deep understanding not only what your relationships are doing for you but more importantly, what they are doing to you. You may have a “can’t miss” business startup plan.  Or, maybe you have a dynamite marketing business plan.

You could even have a personal business coach focusing on coaching success and small business growth.  Your business success coach is a person who is your unconditional support and holds you accountable for what you say you want to accomplish.  Possibly you have taken a business training course to improve your skills or knowledge. 

You may have done all of these things to increase the odds of your success but if your business relationship management as well as your personal relationship management are not good they can undermine everything you have worked hard to accomplish and want to keep. 

The first step in the relationship keys to success is to prioritize your relationships.  Who is truly important or necessary.  Once you determine that then you can move onto the next step.

Keys To Success:  Action Steps

Jim Rohn, one of America’s foremost business philosophers has a lot to say about the keys to success and relationships.  Quite simply he believed that you have three choices with any relationship.  You can either expand the relationship.  You can limit it.  Or, you can hit the delete button and get rid of it. 

The key is good business relationship management, knowing your options and actually taking the appropriate action.  If a piece of equipment is breaking down we know that we might have to repair it or replace it.  If a relationship is breaking down it gets a little more complicated. 

We’ve all been there.  What do you do?  Maybe things will get better.  Maybe they won’t.  And as a business owner you stay stuck because you aren’t sure what to do.  Or, maybe you don’t want the confrontation. Or, maybe you feel guilty because you have caused a relationship to go sour. 

You are faced with a choice.  You can either expand the relationship.  Sometimes it helps to get to know someone better.  You can limit it.  Maybe that works well for all concerned.  Or, you can delete it. 

Before I go any further, if you are interested in having a guide to give you the edge in small business growth and personal development training then go to Business Keys To Success.com and become part of the Business Keys to Success fixed term membership course.  Receive a weekly lesson each week for 20 weeks to self-coach yourself to success in relationships, problem solving, earning money and many other areas.

Keys To Success:  Confront The Truth About Your Relationships

Confrontation is a word people fear.  Most people don’t like it. Actually, when you are confronting what is going on in a relationship you are seeking clarity.  One of the keys to success in relationships is to come from a viewpoint that you are seeking clarity. 

And guess what, confrontation may be part of it.  But without clarity you will remain stuck or overwhelmed and the business success, let alone personal success you desire will continue to elude you. 

Regardless, thinking about it won’t solve it.  You must take action.  Action cures fear!

Understand and accept that your feelings are valid.  One of the keys to success is to work through your feelings as constructively as possible. 

Eliminate the word “why” from your discussions with others and also when you talk to yourself.  All “why” does is put someone in the past and on defense, including you.  Justifying behavior in the past isn’t going to make things better.

Some better questions may be “what” or “how” questions. After you ask them just be quiet and listen.  Give others their space.  And remember WAIT….which stands for why am I talking.  

The keys to success are in the present and the future.  What are you going to do now in the present to create a better future?  All relationships are like a flowing river.  They are changing, if only gradually. 

When you are continuously aware of your relationships and taking action to keep them in perspective you now are on a track to have the small business success and personal happiness you desire.  There are many keys to success but to know how your relationships are flowing and taking action is one of the most important.