Take heed what you say of your customers

Take heed what ye say of your seniors / Be your words spoken softly or plain / Lest a bird of the air tell the matter / And so ye shall hear it again.

-- From “The Laws of the Navy”

Although third stanza from “The Laws of the Navy” refers to one’s seniors, I’ve used it since leaving active duty as a guideline for managing customer relationships, business relationships, etc. (just replace the word “seniors” with “customers” or “colleagues”). When I forgot this advice, invariably I would pay for it one way or another. Another way to think about is to consider how your actions or words would look if they were printed on the front page of The Washington Post, or if they appeared in the top 10 Yahoo! Trending Topics of the day....

Read the rest at the Washington Business Journal