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Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie · Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I bet you've heard people say jokingly, and maybe not, don't waste your time on riffraff.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: In business,
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  SPEAKER_00: that usually means don't spend too much time on people who aren't influential,
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: wealthy, strategic, or able to move the revenue needle.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: In plain English, chase the big bucks and ignore the nickels.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: But here's a question for our episode today.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: One of the clearest warning signs of internal drift is how we align value to people.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Do we treat some customers,
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  SPEAKER_00: co-workers,
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  SPEAKER_00: or team members as more worthy of our time simply because of their title,
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  SPEAKER_00: platform, followers, or the size of purchase orders?
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  SPEAKER_00: Today, we're going to talk about that using Proverbs 6, 12 through 15.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie,
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  SPEAKER_00: where a proverb a day keeps stinking thinking at bay.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Ernie Lansford.
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  SPEAKER_00: After more than 60 years in sales and leadership,
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  SPEAKER_00: I've learned that biblical wisdom is the most valuable asset we can carry into
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  SPEAKER_00: the marketplace.
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  SPEAKER_00: Each time I read Proverbs,
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  SPEAKER_00: Scripture,
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  SPEAKER_00: So pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew
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  SPEAKER_00: and let's explore today's proverb together.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Today we are in Proverbs 6 verses 12 through 15 using the message MSG translation
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  SPEAKER_00: by Eugene Peterson published by Tyndall Publishers.
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  SPEAKER_00: Quote, swindlers and scoundrels talk out of both sides of their mouths.
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  SPEAKER_00: They wink at each other.
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  SPEAKER_00: They shovel their feet.
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  SPEAKER_00: They cross their fingers behind their backs.
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  SPEAKER_00: Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble.
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  SPEAKER_00: Catastrophe is around the corner for them, a total wreck, their lives ruined beyond repair.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's Proverbs 6, verses 12 through 15, using the message translation.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
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  SPEAKER_00: as I mentioned in the opening,
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: we've probably all heard,
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  SPEAKER_00: sometimes jokingly and sometimes not,
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: hey, don't waste your time with the riffraff, the small accounts, the small people.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: usually that means let's not work with people or accounts that aren't influential,
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  SPEAKER_00: wealthy, strategic, or certainly capable of moving the revenue needle.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess in plain English it says let's just focus on the big bucks.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's ignore the small nickels, the small accounts.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that mindset has always troubled me.
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  SPEAKER_00: And frankly,
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  SPEAKER_00: through all of my career,
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  SPEAKER_00: I was always responsible for what was called the independent account.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've never, ever worked with the so-called national accounts.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know, the big people.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know who they are.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, recently,
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  SPEAKER_00: I came across a thought-provoking chapter about Titled Human Dignity and Status
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  SPEAKER_00: by Peter Drucker from his The Daily Drucker book.
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  SPEAKER_00: And he had a quote that I'm going to share with you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Quote, modern corporations often struggle to preserve dignity for everyday workers.
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  SPEAKER_00: And too often,
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  SPEAKER_00: people are unconsciously valued according to title,
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  SPEAKER_00: income,
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  SPEAKER_00: Now in plain English, you know, we often confuse status with worth.
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  SPEAKER_00: And, you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: at first glance,
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  SPEAKER_00: this passage from Solomon seems to describe Obvious troublemakers and swindlers
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  SPEAKER_00: and manipulators and double talkers and frankly people who stir up division.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's clear Solomon calls them out.
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  SPEAKER_00: But as I reflected on this passage coupled with Mr. Drucker's writing, another thought surfaced.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the real danger is not merely the presence of riffraff.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the greater danger is wrongly deciding who we deem as riffraff.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, let's do a quick mirror check.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Do we sometimes unconsciously categorize people or accounts?
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  SPEAKER_00: Key accounts versus small accounts?
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  SPEAKER_00: Important customers versus regular customers.
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  SPEAKER_00: Strategic relationships versus those we see as disposable.
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  SPEAKER_00: Who determines what an account is considered key or small?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is it revenue?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is it strategic location?
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  SPEAKER_00: I guess it's subjective.
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  SPEAKER_00: And with 60 plus years of sales experience, I do understand why it happens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Large accounts and major opportunities are important because revenue is a key factor.
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  SPEAKER_00: However, gospel-centric customer success mastery teaches us something deeper.
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  SPEAKER_00: Every person matters,
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  SPEAKER_00: not because of what they can do for us, but because they carry the image of God.
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  SPEAKER_00: They are God's other children.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this truth reminds me of a poem by Raymond Edmund written many, many years ago.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'll share it with you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Father, where shall I work today?
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  SPEAKER_00: And my love flowed warm and free.
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  SPEAKER_00: Then he pointed out a tiny spot and said, tend that for me.
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  SPEAKER_00: I answered quickly, oh no, not that.
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  SPEAKER_00: Why?
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  SPEAKER_00: No one would ever see, no matter how well my work was done, no one would ever see me.
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  SPEAKER_00: Not that little place for me, please.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the word he spoke, it was not stern.
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  SPEAKER_00: He answered me tenderly, Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.
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  SPEAKER_00: Art thou working for them or for me?
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  SPEAKER_00: Nazareth.
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  SPEAKER_00: Wow!
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  SPEAKER_00: Art thou working for them or me is a piercing question, and it recalibrates everything.
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  SPEAKER_00: Years ago, I met a gentleman who owned a small music store in East Tennessee.
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  SPEAKER_00: He was a one-person operation, what we would call a solopreneur today.
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  SPEAKER_00: He sold hundreds of guitars each year by serving and adding value and significance
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  SPEAKER_00: to everyone who walked through the door.
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  SPEAKER_00: Regardless of their budget, it made no difference if they were buying an Alvarez or a Martin.
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  SPEAKER_00: Each person received equal respect.
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  SPEAKER_00: They weren't dollar signs to him.
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  SPEAKER_00: In fact,
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  SPEAKER_00: he viewed everyone as a nickel,
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  SPEAKER_00: Because he told me he would rather have 20 nickels than a single dollar.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because 20 nickels represented 20 relationships and 20 different spheres of influence.
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  SPEAKER_00: I borrowed his philosophy and often thought about the difference between chasing
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  SPEAKER_00: the big dollar account and faithfully serving the nickels.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure heaven has a dashboard.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: But if it did or does, I bet it does not resemble our marketplace KPIs.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know,
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  SPEAKER_00: we're tempted to dismiss a small customer,
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  SPEAKER_00: a quiet client,
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  SPEAKER_00: a young salesperson,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: or that struggling account in a location off the so-called beaten path
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  SPEAKER_00: because they seem to offer little immediate return.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is more than dangerous thinking.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is internal drift.
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  SPEAKER_00: Only God knows what faithfulness to a small opportunity can produce.
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  SPEAKER_00: Nazareth was a small place, and so was Galilee.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yet Jesus changed the world through what many considered insignificant locations.
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  SPEAKER_00: That makes me think that our actions are like a telemetry gauge.
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  SPEAKER_00: Revealing our true attitudes and mindsets regarding who gets our best energy,
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  SPEAKER_00: patience, and follow-up.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this reveals who we truly value.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it reveals the need for internal calibration.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Asking ourselves a tough question.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Have I started valuing people based on their status rather than their dignity?
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  SPEAKER_00: This question is important because when we view people as tools,
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  SPEAKER_00: transactions, stepping stones, or even ATMs, we stray from biblical wisdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: And a simple warning sign of internal drift is partiality,
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  SPEAKER_00: giving greater honor to people who appear more valuable to us.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm convinced that true customer success mastery knows that service is Isn't just
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  SPEAKER_00: for the so-called influential,
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  SPEAKER_00: but adding significance either isn't just for those who are visible.
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  SPEAKER_00: Dignity belongs to everyone,
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  SPEAKER_00: and recognizing this keeps us aligned with genuine care and respect.
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  SPEAKER_00: That brings us to today's customer success code.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Never measure a person's worth by the size of their platform, paycheck, or purchase order.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord, forgive me for the times I have valued people according to the appearance
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  SPEAKER_00: of their status or influence or financial potential.
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  SPEAKER_00: Please recalibrate my heart minute by minute so I see others the way you do.
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  SPEAKER_00: Help me honor the dignity you placed in every person I serve.
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  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you for joining me on this episode of Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie.
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  SPEAKER_00: If this episode has been meaningful to you or adding significance to you,
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: please consider sharing it.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's how we influence the marketplace for God.
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  SPEAKER_00: We truly do.
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  SPEAKER_00: And remember, chasing personal success is temporal.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Adding significance to others is infinite.