Win Business with Relationships by May Gao

Author:May Gao
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Business Expert Press
Published: 2023-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Obstacle #5: Haste

Haste makes waste. This common idiom indicates that doing something too quickly causes mistakes that result in the loss of time, effort, materials, and other resources. It takes time and a process for an apple tree to grow, blossom, and yield fruit. In business, we must practice “strategic patience” to allow deals to mature. The word patience is often defined as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delays, troubles, or sufferings without getting angry or upset.” Strategic patience is a method in business relationship cultivation that seeks to wait for the right time to close deals. Be patient and let nature take its course. Robert Striar, president of M Style Marketing, shares, “We have potential clients we’ve talked to for years. One of my biggest clients is someone I spoke to for four years before they became a client.” In the long-term business relationship cultivation process, we keep the conversation going, strengthen the trust, and be ready to close any deals at the right moment. Laozi, the author of Tao Te Ching, asks: “Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?”

Timing is everything. Confucius said, “timing is the fate” (时也,命也). A popular Chinese saying points to the combined effect of “timing in Heaven, location on Earth, and harmony of the people” (天时、地利、人和), with timing listed as the number one variable to consider. Timing matters for business relationships, just like crops follow the cycle of growing seasons. In business, one needs to find out when people’s projects become available in their business lifecycles, who they have as their supervisors, and if they are interested in us as a vendor now. Not paying attention to the timing and tenor of priorities of the economic buyers poses a major obstacle in business. We do have a deadline culture in the United States. There are deadlines in everything: projects, contracts, construction, and business deals. However, business relationships cannot be rushed as they follow their own growing seasons and speeds.

The Taoist concept of wu wei (无为) reminds us to be strategically patient, letting nature take its course for relationship development. Often misunderstood, wu wei literally means inexertion, inaction, effortless action, or action through inaction (Slingerland 2007). Without forcing it, wu wei allows things to happen in their natural pace. You may execute some interventions, such as sowing the seeds, moving the rose plant to a sunny spot, or adding some water and fertilizer, but then, you must wait patiently for things to happen. Sinologist Jean Francois Billeter describes wu wei as a state of perfect knowledge on the reality of the situations, efficaciousness, and energy interplay dynamics (Slingerland 2007). Practicing wu wei through strategic patience lets us to be ready when the right moments come. Many times, things will work out better with less intervention. Problems tend to solve themselves in some cases. Sometimes, all we need to do is to take a deep breath, wait, and let things happens.

In April 2020, one month after

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