Now is the best time to use client and employee incentives. Budgets are tight but if you want to maintain business, retain employees and grow along with being ahead of the competition now it is the perfect time to use incentives. 

As always we experience economic cycles. Like all other cycles this one is on its way to a economic strength once again. Those who use incentives now are not just working for today, the are culivating their crop for the future. Smart companies are retaining their customers by demonstrating their appreciation of their continued business and retaining their valuable employees with incentives for jobs well done.

Watch television or open the newspaper and you will find incentive after incentive. The once considered red headed step child of incentives, the gas card is now the most popular kid on the block!  General Motors set off fireworks in the eyes of the car buyer with their gas incentive campaign. The promotions promise to either lock in lower gas prices ($2.99 a gallon in the case of Chrysler’s offer) or pay for gas outright for a set period of time.

Landlords are offering a variety of incentives trying attract tenants in a slow economy.  They’ve become common enough that brokers say incentives are required in some markets to close deals. “They have become ground rules for the way do business - they’re expected,” said Rob Hughes, a vice president with Colliers International.

 Using incentive gifts boosts employee performance or recognize faithful clients is a time-proven business success strategy. Everyone loves getting a free virtual visa incentive to shop at over 200 online retailers, e-certificates for gas or a vacation. Employees and customers are no exception. Most importantly is the way the incentive reflects on you and your company as the givers–it’s sure to make your employees and customers appreciate you all the more and share their experience with others. More referrals, happy employees and retain business.

A cash incentive is soon forgotten but an incentive of their choice is remembered.

It was 1960 and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working in his lab. He was entering data into his computer in the hopes of modeling weather patterns when he stumbled upon a theory that is known as ‘The Butterfly Effect’. He was entering wind speed, air pressure and temperature into three separate equations that were linked in a mathematical feedback loop. This equation allowed Lorenz to predict weather patterns.

One day Lorenz was in a bit of a hurry and opted to take a shortcut when entering the data. He rounded the numbers to the nearest one thousandth rather than to the nearest one millionth (for example, .407 instead of .407349). As a scientist, he knew this would change the result – however he expected only a minor change. Lorenz was astounded to discover that this tiny change made a profound impact on the final resulting weather pattern. This discovery led Lorenz to ponder: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas?’ – Thus you have ‘The Butterfly Effect’ theory.

This theory has been applied to all areas of science since Lorenz’s 1960 experiment.

What does it mean for your life?

It means that every decision or action that you make - no matter how small – could potentially dramatically alter the course of your life. My life, as I am sure yours is, is a testimony to the butterfly effect. When I was 12 years old, I met a friend named Brian in P.E. class. Over two decades later, Brian is still my best friend. At the age of 12, Brian had a thirst for learning and studying (the other 12 year olds called him a nerd) and he was a fitness fanatic. He still has these qualities and because of our friendship they rubbed off on me. At the age of 18, I needed a job and he secured me a job where he worked as a telemarketer. My third day on the job, I made a telemarketing call to someone in the seminar business. He thought I was a good telemarketer and offered me a job over the phone.

Did you follow that?

You are receiving this email from me, reading my books, or hearing me speak because I was offered a job at the age of 18 from a seminar company. I would have never been offered that job – if Brian hadn’t gotten me the telemarketing job and Brian would never have known me if we hadn’t met at the age of 12 in P.E.! I have an insatiable desire for learning that began at age 12 and have developed into a fitness fanatic as well. Most of the major events in my life can be traced back to a conversation in a gym two decades ago – that is ‘The Butterfly Effect’

ACTION POINTS
Realize that ‘The Butterfly Effect’ is very real and small decisions or actions can make a huge impact on your life

Take responsibility for your decisions, actions and friends – even the tiny decisions – realizing that they can dramatically alter the course of your life.

Understand the importance of attention to detail. Years before 1986, the smallest flaw was overlooked in a Space Shuttle O-Ring. That flaw led to a horrific ‘Butterfly Effect’ and the deaths of seven Astronauts years later in January 1986.

Do not allow ‘The Butterfly Effect’ to paralyze you from inaction. Instead, use it as the spark of motivation to fan the fire of action – realizing that you control your destiny even in the tiniest of ways.