1
Always keep in mind that the complaining customer is your very best friend, someone to treasure
2
Just do the business; the costs will take care of themselves
3
Always give your customers more than they bargained for
4
Don’t research the market; test it instead
5
Always keep in mind that you can never win an argument with a customer
6
Always return every electronic communication - phone call, FAX, and e-mail mesage - the same day you receive it
7
Always run your business for the convenience of your customers, not for your or your employees’ convenience
8
Never impose a minimum charge or fee on people who want to do business with you
9
Always have an immediate, right-now, risk-free, money-back, no-hassle return policy
10
Whenever company policy gets in the way of customer satisfaction, change company policy
11
Never use either government statistics or “the state of the economy” as a basis for decision-making
12
Never squeeze your suppliers dry. Always see to it that they make money on you
13
Don’t ever give a consultant final say on anything
14
Always treat your small customers as though they were big customers
15
Always take the word of an expert with several grains of salt
16
Always start your business on a shoestring
17
Always be suspicious of statistics when they’re about people; learn to rely on anecdotal evidence instead
18
Cultivate your street-smarts and let your school-smarts atrophy
19
Forget about luck; there’s no such thing
20
Never be faked out by “problems”; they exist only in your head
21
Hang out with successful people as much as you can; their optimism and confidence are contagious
22
When choosing business associates, shun talkers, embrace doers, and stay away from people who start things but never finish them
23
Don’t ever seek or take the advice of an economist
24
Always keep your eye on the ball - scoring points, not just gaining yards
25
Never raise a white flag in response to a challenge
26
Always keep in mind that every setback in business can be a blessing in disguise
27
Don’t compete in terms of price alone; compete on the basis of quality as well
28
Don’t ever be penny wise and pound foolish
29
Just do it!
30
Never forget that when you’re in business, the buck stops with you. Period
How to Get a Copy of the Book in Hardcover

 

 

The Proof of the Pudding . . .

ollowing is feedback from some of the people who have read Harry Shapiro's Legacy and then put its maxims to work.

Dear Dr. Shapiro:

I want to share with you some experiences I’ve had since reading your book [Harry Shapiro’s Legacy, Volume 1 of a Trilogy]. First, my bookings have increased by 50%, and I am now full for the first time in years! I am excitedly putting into practice the maxims, and having fun trusting my own instincts with greater confidence and results.

The other day I had what I previously would have considered “a setback.” For the second time, the audio CD of my session with a client failed to burn properly — the lesson was lost. I felt terrible. But keeping in mind your idea that the customer always comes first, I told my student “the lesson's on me.” (I had to eat $70!) Now she's more committed than ever, and we have a great relationship!

Your book has inspired me to eradicate all negative thinking from my thought life, and I am a happier man because of it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

— John Scott

P.S. (From Mrs. Scott): Since John read the book . . . his business is booming, just over the top! I haven’t seen it like this in the ten years we’ve been together. Yahooo!!

Dear David:

Since reading Harry Shapiro's Legacy and putting its wisdom to work, revenues for my financial consulting practice are up nearly 300%!

Harry's simple message that customers don't need me, I need them, changed everything about the way I've looked at my business this past year — and the results have been terrific. Even the book’s idea of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope with every invoice — I’ve even gone beyond that; I now enclose one with every letter I send to a client that requires a response, something no “smart” businessman would ever dream of doing — has paid enormous dividends.

Thank you for this great tribute to your father's timeless business savvy and for sharing it with a business world that needs the book's “WAKE UP!” message like never before.

— Scott Armacost

Dear Dr. Shapiro:

. . . I have enjoyed . . . [Harry Shapiro’s Legacy] . . . and I am struck by how consistent . . . [his] . . . maxims are with Southwest Airlines’s own Mission Statement and Core Values.

— Colleen Barrett
President & CEO
Southwest Airlines

Dear Dr. Shapiro:

I read your book and was impressed with the maxims that your father Harry shared with you. I think I was most impressed with the customer doesn't need you, it is you who need the customer and a complaining customer is someone to be cherished. Both of these sum up what our business mentality should be.

Thanks for a great book.

— Ted Knaul

Dear Dr. Shapiro:

I have just finished reading your book. Enjoyed every page of it! It is wise, warm, and witty. The drawings are a very imaginative addition.

Congratulations! Keep on writing, Dr. Shapiro! With best regards.

— Martin Borenstein, A.I.A. I.D.S.A.

Dear Dr. Shapiro:

I read Harry Shapiro's Legacy -- Volume 1 -- and have to say that I've grown in my understanding of what customer service really means.

I like the format. Each maxim was covered well enough to get a feeling for it's place in the whole picture. I never felt lost while reading this book. Each piece was obviously part of a whole that materialized as the pages turned. Well done.

— Steve Eschenburg