Strong relationships are the pathway to success

Karen Darby-Ritz,
Advance Planning Manager,
Camino del Sol Funeral Chapel
and Cremation Center

When you look back on your life, what do you remember the most? Is it that new cellphone you recently purchased, or the days spent on the job? Or, is it the relationships you have built with colleagues, friends or family that made a bigger impact?

A successful life is not about the things we acquire during our lifetime. It’s about the relationships we cultivate along the way. Quality relationships can be the path to success in life and business. When we have a healthy relationship with others, communication becomes more seamless. Healthy relationships can help to make even the most difficult of situations end well.

Quality relationships consist of three important values: empathy, care and respect.

1. When we empathize with the families we serve, we must put ourselves into their shoes and really feel and understand what they are going through.
2. By empathizing with families, it also shows them that we care about them and the loved one that they have lost. 
3. When we listen to a family's needs and help them as much as possible, it shows them that we respect them.

Relationships don’t happen by chance or continue to grow unattended. Any relationship takes effort, not just in the beginning, but throughout the life of the partnership. Sustaining a relationship may require us to step outside our comfort zone, but in the end, it is worth it because that is what helps make a strong relationship.

This article originally appeared in Trigard Tuesdays, our weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/tuesdays.