Society Culture Politics

Politics, Religion, Race; Conversational No-No's in Business

Do not destroy all your positive displacement and high energy and customer confidence by discussing politics in your small business. Remember not every one in the world is as smart as you are or sees as much dealing with all these different types of customers in so many different professions each day. Therefore they may have incorrect political views and disagree with you. You do not have time to change everyone's mind nor should you bother trying. Since we have a two party political system and it is pretty much split down the middle, you have a 50% chance of pissing someone off when talking about politics in an office building. The owner may be Republican but the people overhearing the conversations may be one-half Democratic and they are also potential customers. Please don't talk about abortion, assault weapon bans or cigarette laws. People who are into these issues are really into them, and if your opinion differs from theirs, you have just created an enemy and lost a customer.

Religion? Wow! You should never try to convince anyone to join your religion or argue against theirs. If you want to do this, do it on your own time, invite them to church, temple, whatever. If a person is really religious, offer them your car wash fundraising services. Even if you don't agree with their religious beliefs, you are bound to meet a lot of really good people by doing a fundraiser car wash for their church's youth group. It's good for business and you'll be helping in a positive way keeping kids away from drugs, gangs, graffiti and violence. This will also be promoting the family unit.

Race is something you just shouldn't talk about at all. Many races have been persecuted and hated in our country for decades. These same people have money to pay for your small business's products or services. Don't be stupid. No matter how you feel and everyone (whether they admit it or not) is a little prejudiced, throw it away, drop it, stop worrying about it and go make money.

Some cultures do business differently. You should simply realize that there have always been differences and there always will be. Many of these differences have to do with their country's free-market system, or lack thereof. Some people may like to wheel and deal. That's how they transact business. It's the way they feel they're supposed to do it. Instead of getting angry, simply understand that their background is different than yours. Just because they conduct business differently than you are used to doesn't mean its wrong. Your way of doing business may seem wrong to them. Some of these people are your very best customers. They:

Are more loyal customers

Tip better

Refer you to friends

Treat you like family

So remember, if you have a problem with any group of people, drop it. Enough said. If you don't believe us, you'll learn. It just doesn't matter. Everyone is your potential customer and in business discrimination does not pay. Play it safe and think about your business future and your customers, listen to their opinions and nod your head, but do not chime in otherwise you will lose other customers. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

MORE ARTICLES:

Gazette of Politics and Business Names Viable #2 on List of Exceptional 53 Businesses
Deaf-owned provider of video relay services for deaf and hard of hearing people receives honor at Bethesda awards ceremony.

The Politics Behind Olympics Games
Among the Greeks, fitness competitions and games were nationalistic in spirit; states were said to have been prouder of Olympic victories than of battles won. Women, foreigners, slaves, and dishonored persons were forbidden to compete. Contestants were required to train faithfully for 10 months before the games and had to take an oath that they had fulfilled the training requirements before participating. At first, the Olympic Games were confined to running, but over time new events were added. The winners of the Olympics were crowned with chaplets of wild olive, and in their home city-states male champions were also awarded valuable gifts and privileges.

Talking Politics With Teens
It can be challenging to discuss politics across generations without someone melting down (usually you) or tuning out (usually them), but it's not impossible. Here are six traits of adults with the power to engage teens and inspire them to activism.

Vocus Recognized as Exceptional Business by Gazette of Politics and Business
Vocus, Inc., (NASDAQ: VOCS) a leading provider of on-demand software for public relations management, today announced that the company has received the Exceptional Business Award by The Gazette of Politics and Business.

The Future of Debate and Politics has Changed Forever
Debate.com, the first online debate community, changes the art of debate with the successful launch of version 3.0. This release includes a laundry list of new features including new voting technology, debate and member ranking, photo albums, messaging, advanced searching, video integration and a friend system.

Internal Politics Is The Cause Of Why People Are Buying Investment Property In Coqueirinho, Brazil
Over 1 million new jobs are predicted to be created in Brazil by the end of 2008, according to the tourism department in Brazil as a result of increased holiday makers. Walfrido doe Mares Guia, the minister of the tourist board, says that 575,000 jobs have been created as a result of tourists and subsequent 500,000 jobs are to be created before the end of 2008. Praise should be given to to the Brazilian government who have forked out money into improving existing infrastructure around Brazil for tourists, this programme is known as PRODETUR.

The Politics of Health
I was thinking about the quarrel (well, fight to the death, actually) between conventional medicine and alternatives like herbal or holistic medicine. So, I did some research to see if I could figure out what's the big beef between these to approaches to healing. I always believed that herbal medicine pre-dated conventional medicine by thousands of years. It turns out that it doesn't, not by THOUSANDS, anyway! Conventional medicine appears to be younger than herbal medicine by only about 1,100 years.

Football and Politics One Side and the Same As Cyprus Revives Reunification Attempts
Football is one of those things that is far more important that the immediate sum of its parts ? the twenty-two men, ninety minutes and two goals This is especially true in times of crises, where the sporting conflict serves as metonym for the wider political or humanitarian reality

Gazette of Politics and Business Recognizes CEO John T.C. Yeh
Deaf executive of telecommunications company recognized in 2008 list of 25 CEOs in State of Maryland.

Do Shoes Matter More than Politics?
Is Manolo Blahnik more relevant to the lives of women than Margaret Beckett (British Foreign Secretary) and does Jimmy Choo mean more than John McCain? With the launch of her new Shoes Life T-Shirt Fashion Designer Queen of Suburbia contends that we connect more with fashion than we do with politics.

The Politics Of Fashion
Everyone knows that clothes make the man. From the executive suits that litter Wall Street like the remnants of a ticker-tape parade to the coveralls and work boots worn by construction workers and mechanics, clothes tell the story of who we are and where we're going. Even when the workday is done, what we choose to wear on our own time is still a reflection of our personalities. From the sweat-suit to the wet-suit, our clothes are meant to be not only functional, but forthcoming as well. Clothes tell others what we like, and often, how we spend our time. Sports franchise logos are constantly on display on Main Street America. T-shirts with well known television, film and music icons can be seen almost anywhere. Clothes have som...

World of Jewish Launches Networking Site For Business, Politics, Dating, Jobs, Health and Culture
World of Jewish social and business networking website has been launched offering everything from dating, jobs and real estate to business, politics, music, art and video and health.

Show Your True Colors - Wearing Your Politics on Your Sleeve
The 2008 elections are finally getting down to the wire, and delegates from all 50 states - or 57, if you're voting for Obama - are all ready to head to their respective conventions

Politics And The Internet
According to a recent poll conducted by ComputerWorld, about forty percent of the population believes that people can increase their political power by going online. Hence, many academics believe that people in western societies are becoming more technologically educated in order to gain more influence in the political sector. For example, Mr. Jeffrey Cole, a director at the University of Southern California states, ?This year, 6% of regular Internet users said they have their own blogs, 16% said they post pictures on the Web, and more than 10% maintain their own web sites. In 2003, 3% of Internet users said they blogged, 11% posted photos, and less than 9% maintained web sites.?(ComputerWorld, 2005: 1) Thus, the question raised ...