Your handshake and your word!

Covid was almost the death of the handshake. A simple thing a handshake, it’s becoming a lost art. Bumping fists or doing nothing at all was en vogue during that outrageous period. Don’t forget the face masks–what an absolutely LAME time we all lived through. Face masks–ridiculous, it was on every door handle in town!
Set the stage.. Dark foreboding music playing in the background, picture the ferret Fauci sitting in a corner at night tapping his fingers together and chuckling.. Trumps greatest mistake in office, was failing to fire that ferret.

The best handshake the world has ever known, was from a gentleman named Jim Perkins–the first time we met (and I thought I had a strong handshake) Jim walked up, we grabbed each other’s hands and he almost pulled me out of my shoes and he gave me a big smile. What a Man and a LEGEND in the business world! You couldn’t ever forget Jim Perkins after that!
In my career, I always made it a point to shake the dirty hands of hard-working mechanics, construction people, janitors, etc. and look them in the eye and let them know I appreciated their efforts daily. And by God, they knew I truly respected them–through humility and acknowledgement, via a handshake and a smile, I made myself no more important than anyone else.
Those of you that have worked with me over the years, know that I’m big on shaking hands. For me it was a renewal and bond of my word daily, a way to continuously strengthen friendships, and a way to re-affirm the common daily agenda that we all shared together. It was also a way of saying thank you for their hard work the previous day.
But it means so much more than that to me. I came through the business world at a time when your word and a handshake was better than any contract. TRUE STORY: When I was 19 years old, I had quickly established several large business relationships in Kansas City and by 20 was doing aprox $100,000/month in purchases with NO contract and NO credit rating, just a growing checkbook–all of it was established on trust and bonds that had been built, and many handshakes. A business associate named Larry, taught me early on, that “inventory never hurts you Brucie”.. He was right, you can’t sell what you don’t have. For decades I have taught many people using the following illustration, “you can’t sell donuts off an empty shelf”. Low inventory is the most prophetic thing there is in business–it always equals LOW sales and LOW gross profits! Due to trust that was built in those early relationships in KC, I got a phone call one day from a guy in Long Beach California (I was in KC) and he said, I heard you’re a trustworthy guy–I asked, what do you want? He laughed and said, I have 2 container loads of product at the port that I need to sell now. We ran through the prices, and I told him that he was out of his mind on price for that kind of volume. 2 container loads?? That’s HUGE. About 10 minutes later, I made him a ridiculous offer that he couldn’t refuse (he needed to sell it and I didn’t need to buy it), and I made the purchase of it all, at the single best prices I had ever negotiated (and the terms to pay were 30, 60, 90 with those deferred terms starting in 3 months!) all done with NO credit app or contract–just my reputation. The guy said to me, “you better get ready Bruce, because in about 3-4 days you’re gonna see multiple Yellow Freight trucks pulling into your parking lot”. I made a boat load of money off that product. But HOW did that happen? I was just a kid, wet behind the ears and just turned 20. It was because my word was good… I would have never gotten the referral in the first place, if my handshake and word wasn’t stellar in KC. Man those Yellow Freight trucks sure looked good rolling into my parking lot!

I have started and finished many business deals on a handshake. My handshake is an irrevocable bond and is about trust you can count on.
TRUE STORY: I gave my word over the phone once close to midnight, on a multimillion-dollar transaction, that would have to be finished through attorneys and complicated contracts. My word was given to a Man who I had shaken hands with many times over the years, and the trust that existed between us allowed the deal to move forward immediately. Of course, when opposing Attorneys get involved, there will be sticking points to iron out. But if you cannot finish the deal–your word, your bond and your handshake is all at risk over some BS legalese–that’s unacceptable, and it goes way beyond the current transaction–it’s about the future too, not just the now.. And remember this–Attorneys work for you; you don’t work for the Attorney! Any remember this too, ANY Attorney can tell you how NOT to do a deal–a good Attorney finds a way to help you DO the deal.
Our attorney had a problem with a single paragraph that the opposing attorney was unwilling to amend to our liking. We were stuck and the entire deal was at risk–to make matters worse, an officer in our company who was totally inexperienced in such transactions said to me, “kill the deal now–it’s over”. Really I thought??–utterly ridiculous! I was infuriated and yet, why argue with a lamp shade? My word was at stake, not to mention a killer deal pending! I walked into our attorney’s office, shut the door and asked, “do you mind if I speak in plain and extremely blunt language that will sound offensive in nature?” The attorney said, “ok, say whatever is on your mind.” I said, “this entire F’ing deal, my word, and more importantly our credibility in the business community to do future acquisitions is at risk if we don’t get this deal done today–now I want this stupid F’ing paragraph in the contract either totally stricken or amended “to their liking” and I need it done in the next 30 F’ing minutes or less, and then I need you to tell our pinhead leader that you are totally satisfied with the contract now–capiche?” Post script–The deal got done.. It was not only about finishing a deal, but also protecting my word and the bond of many handshakes.
When you look someone in the eye and shake their hand, you’ve done a lot more than say hello or goodbye. Be sure to make it count and always KEEP your word. Make commitments happen, even if it is painful to do so. And please–whatever you do, don’t give a limp wristed or weak handshake–don’t shake a hand like an old Man walks!

Of course, some people won’t, or don’t shake hands and situational problems may preclude any potential bonding. TRUE STORY: One day in the course of collecting some aged receivables in the Carolinas, I had to call an established customer who was 3 months late on pay. After getting him (he was the owner) on the phone, I politely stated the facts and asked for payment today. He said that he wouldn’t pay today–and, he wasn’t too nice in how he said it. Rhetorically, I asked him “Hey Brother, my Mother only carried me for 9 months, how long am I supposed to carry you?” He said, what did you say to me?? He came unglued and physically threatened me over the phone to which I replied, “Hey Pal–here I am, come see me, I’m here for the proverbial 9-5 and my Wife says that I live here too, come on if you’re coming!” He said, “I’m on the way there now!” I slammed the phone.. About 20 minutes later, I was in the lunchroom and Wayne Simpson called me and said, Bruce, he’s here! (Wayne had been sitting in my office when I made that call). I went down and here was a body builder type, with a braided ponytail and muscles bulging all over his body including his forehead.. I walked up, extended a handshake and said, I’m Bruce Daugherty and he said, “I’m not shaking your hand, I’m here to break my leg off in your ass!” I replied, “Well, I guess we’ll both have to go to the hospital!” A standoff began, literally chest to chest, it got pretty edgy, and the ensuing color commentary can’t be published here. Eventually, I escorted him out of the building with some vociferous language in the process. But he did pay up, and funny enough he continued to buy from us! There was No bonding with that guy, and NO hello or goodbye handshakes, but I did get paid before 9 months! I don’t know, maybe if we had met in a bar under different circumstances, we might have been friends.. Who knows.
A good handshake, a smile and a good morning starts the day and sets the tone anywhere. Don’t be bashful, give a good handshake, look people in the eye, make friends and create a bond. And always keep your word–Jim Perkins did.