Congruent is a word we all learned in school, likely in geometry, and we just don’t see it much after that. Simply defined congruent is “in harmony, in agreement”. As a word to define a person’s or a business’ principals it is a powerful descriptor to create consistency and thereby make life for you or your business easier.
T. Harv Ecker has this wonderful phrase “how you do anything is how you do everything.” Are you congruent? If you pay late on your rent, you are likely a person who pays late on lots of things. If you wear clothes that are tailored and stylish, you likely pay attention to your outward appearance in many other ways, too. If you buy products primarily based on price, you likely expect others do the same with what you are selling.
The stabilizing issue for any person or business to come to grips is to understand what it is that that YOU respect and Do THAT everywhere. You can’t be strict about the time someone arrives for a meeting with you and be late for your appointments with others – it’s incongruent (but many people do it). You can’t be frustrated with the service quality you get at the store and then miss service deliveries yourself with people who count on you – it’s incongruent (but many people do it).
Match your Customer Service to your standard and match it to your Customer expectations. Match your pricing policies to your marketing and sales practices.
To create ultimate success that you define is to achieve congruence in all that you do. Identify what makes you incongruent and make it congruent with your principals and practices. If it matters that people respect your time, respect theirs and show up on time. That is congruent. If it matters that you are treated well, treat others well, including your employees. That is congruent.
Stop being incongruent. It’s a choice.
