Second Cup: Be easy to work with

Being pleasant can be a competitive advantage

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to be easy to work with. If
you want people to want to work with you, making
the experience as.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Painless as possible is a good way to make that happen.
So today's tip comes courtesy of a friend who has
been freelancing for a long time. She was working with
a new editor and turned in a piece that was
exactly the right length, written in the same tone as
everything else in the publication, and she turned it in

(00:48):
with the proper supporting material a few days early. To
hear her tell it, the editor was so excited that
she thanked her profusely for all she had done, which
of course made both of us wonder were other people
not doing this. Completing an assignment as assigned seems like

(01:10):
the bare minimum, but we all know that not everyone
is easy to work with. People miss deadlines, people don't
do what they agreed to do. Sometimes people are not
particularly pleasant with those they are working with. They are
late to meetings, or they are unprepared. They are constantly

(01:31):
trying to upsell to the next thing, and maybe it
works sometimes, but most people who have a choice tend
to seek out pleasure and avoid pain. If you work
with two vendors and they are basically the same in
terms of cost and performance, wouldn't you be more likely

(01:53):
to give future business to the one who isn't a jerk?
Wouldn't you be more likely to choose the one who
seems happy that you gave them the business? I know
I would, and pretty much most other people will do
the same. So if you want people to want to

(02:14):
work with you, being easy to work with is a
pretty good way to stand out, particularly in a competitive
market where it is hard to compete on price and
everyone does more or less the same thing. Being easy
to work with is the one place you can truly
distinguish yourself. What this looks like is probably different in

(02:39):
every industry, but being nice goes a long way everywhere.
Returning calls promptly and thanking people is always a good idea.
Doing the job you said you'd do in the time
you said you'd do it in is going to make
anyone happy. I know it doesn't always work out. You

(03:03):
work to build a relationship with someone and they quit
or go elsewhere. A project can turn into a disaster
despite everyone's best intentions. But careers are long, and if
you have been in the same business for decades, you
will likely have the experience of someone reaching out with

(03:23):
a job or a project in the future precisely because
they did enjoy working with you in the past. You
were easy to work with and they want to continue
that easy feeling as long as possible. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

(03:46):
the most of our time.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before
Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled

(04:19):
out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
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favorite shows.