I have always thought of watches as a timepiece.  Since I like to be on time, I’ve used many different watches that were created to help me tell time. The first watch I can remember having was a Roy Rogers watch, which, if I still possessed it, would sell for $300 to $400.  Maybe it’s a reminder that we shouldn’t always throw old things away.

Over the years, watches have evolved into calendars and much more. I generally have bought inexpensive watches because I tended to knock them around a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever paid much over one hundred dollars for a watch, generally less.

King David wanted to make things right with the Gibeonites, a tribe Saul had wronged.  Scripture says that “David asked the Gibeonites, ‘What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the LORD's inheritance?’" (2 Samuel 21:3, NIV) 

Every business and the individuals who run them will occasionally fall short. A key question is what we do in those circumstances. In the situation scripture notes, David did not just walk away or make an arbitrary decision based on what he felt the wronged tribe should receive. He asked. He wanted to know what they thought should be done to make reparation for the wrong. 

One of the most difficult aspects of business, and life, is to put aside problems and concerns once the worst has happened. In the past, I’ve lost customers despite every conceivable step I took to keep the customer. I hate losing customers.  It’s not easy for me to shake off the disappointment.

David gave us an example in scripture after one of his children died.

Jerome McCarthy identified four priorities in marketing.  He called them the four P’s: product, price, place and promotion. In marketing we do well to follow them because when any of these elements fails, the marketing campaign falls apart.

Product

In my view, the product or service delivery is the most important.  The best marketing materials will fail to generate repeat business if the product or service delivery falls short of expectations. Remember, expectations minus reality equals disappointment.

A rock climber lost his grip and started a 600-foot fall to the bottom of the canyon. In the first several seconds as he found himself in a mid-air free fall, he thought everything was going well. However, his optimism didn’t give him a safe landing.  In business, as in life, we need to balance idealistic optimism against unrealistic pessimism.

When facing a serious business crisis, total optimism that says:   the situation will resolve shortly; isn’t our best tool.  Neither is extreme pessimism that makes us want to fold up our tent and go home.