The 3 R’s have changed for business today

When I was in school we learned about the 3 R’: Reading
Riting
Rithmatic

These R’s were considered the core skills students would learn. They were easy to remember, and the values in the skills were easily understood. In retrospect they could’ve been better understood had they all actually begun with the letter R but this isn’t a spelling test, or a history lesson. This is a lesson in the R’s of modern day business.

While I’m certain reading and writing are still important (my jury has always been out on arithmetic) there are new R’s which require our immediate attention.

These three elements are the core skills, and matters of practice for modern day businesses.

The first R is a driving factor in the happiness of our lives Relationships. Relationships have always been a staple for people, and come in many different types:
Family
Friends
Co-workers
Clients
Business partners
Spiritual connections
Most importantly, the one we have with our self.

Aside from keeping us happy, relationships are the life streams of our business communities, costumers’ connections, and a constant reinforce for our personal brand. We must take great care not only to connect but to also relate to the people around us.

Relationships do not thrive without some neutering and commitment. You must maintain a balance of all aspects of give and take in order for an authentic relationship to be maintained.

Which is why the second R is Recommendations. We’ve always collected letters from satisfied clients, and now more than ever word of mouth is making or breaking brand images. Capitalizing on modern social networking tools allows for constant rapport care, but also an opportunity to mutually recommend peers, professionals, staff, and the like.

Linkedin uses the term up upfront, but don’t count out other venues such as facebook or twitter. A quick positive status update on facebook, or brief thank you tweet on twitter is another trick to represent those who you would recommend.

The third R is brand spanking new: Real-time search. The SEO/SEM strategists have been extolling the virtues of search for a couple of years now, and this business has evolved. It is no longer enough to own page 1 on Google. You need to make your presence known on page one on Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites.

Relationships
Recommendations
Real-Time Search

The modern R’s of business take old school classic spin on the new school technologies. And when you use these 3 R’s well, you get the most important R there is in business:

REFERRALS