Your Service Today = Their Story For Life

Do you understand how long an impression lasts? Do you really?

Standing in line to vote one election day, I struck up a conversation with the 70-ish year old guy next to me. More accurately, he struck up a conversation with me. Let's call him Chatty Charlie (which is a pretty darn accurate description, by the way).

Chatty Charlie & I talked about many things that day, but only one topic stands out in my memory. During our lengthy conversation, Chatty Charlie discovered that I had once lived in Okemos, Michigan, a suburb of Lansing/East Lansing.

Charlie excitedly told me, "Oh I've been to Okemos. Stayed in the WORST Holiday Inn EVER when my daughter was at Michigan State."

Needing absolutely no prompting to continue, Charlie filled in the blanks for me. "The room was dirty, the bed was broken, and when we complained to the front desk, they did absolutely nothing about it. They just didn't care at all!"

Charlie's passion & enthusiasm for his story indicated this must have been a recent experience, a fresh wound. But as Charlie ranted, I determined he seemed a bit too old to have a co-ed daughter anytime in the past decade.

"When did you stay at that hotel?" I had to know. Either he was a really old dad or had held a really long grudge. Turns out my suspicions about the grudge were spot on.

He told me when his daughter had graduated. I quickly did the math. Well, I did the math as quickly as I could. Math and I are barely on speaking terms, even today.

If my math was correct, though, Chatty Charlie was still enthusiastically complaining about an event that he had experienced SEVENTEEN YEARS earlier.

A few years have past since that conversation and I'd bet you a hundred dollars that Charlie still tells that story with equal passion every chance he gets. He'll tell it until he dies. Even then, he'll probably tell it to Jesus.

Know when I think about my conversation with Chatty Charlie? Whenever I have a bad day. Because when I'm having a bad day, I'm tempted to do things half-baked. I'm tempted to slack off. I'm tempted to say things I will very likely regret later. And I'm certainly tempted to not care about YOUR problems (even if I may have caused one or two of them myself).

But then Chatty Charlie pops in my head and reminds me why I'm here and why I do what I do. He also reminds me just how long people will remember the way you make them feel. He reminds me that a single bad experience doesn't just stay with somebody for seventeen minutes or seventeen days. And you and I both know it can certainly live longer than seventeen years.

So the lessons here are:

1. Always talk to those old dudes in the election line. You never know what wisdom may come your way.

2. Remember how long a bad impression lasts. 

3. Do everything in your power EVERY DAY to not make a bad impression. Fix problems ASAP, be aware of your attitude, and be nice to your customers even when you don't want to be.

By the way, good impressions can last a lifetime, too. If you haven't heard my story of Carlos the security guard, check out this past article. I've told both the Chatty Charlie and the Carlos story dozens of times. If I'm lucky, I'll tell them a thousand more times before my work here is done.

Go make an impression today. But make it a good one, ok?




P.S. I LOVE to hear your stories! Leave a comment after this article on our blog & tell the world your favorite customer service impression.


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Newsflash: You Are Not A Cat

You will never have more time than you do right now.

Take a deep breath and read that line again...slowly this time...and let it sink in.

You see, there are only two things that are absolutely true: 1) You're alive right now, and 2) you will never have more time than you do right now.

Wow, man, that's deep. You're kinda freakin' me out with all this life and death mumbo jumbo.

Good, because it's time for you to wake up.

In case you missed the newsflash in the title, you are not a cat.

You do not have nine lives. Heck, cats don't really have nine lives either. But, please don't tell your cat. The last thing we need is a bunch of depressed tabbys running around.

You have one life, THIS life. And tomorrow you will have one less day than you do today. Yet, many of us live like this is a practice life, or worse, a throwaway life -- as if we'll get another shot. And some of us throw away today thinking we'll get another shot tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that's why cats lay around 98% of the time.

What does this have to do with work? Hmmm, let me see. The word I'm looking for is EVERYTHING.

You're either working and contributing like you've only got one life, or you're not. You can't slack off today and expect a better tomorrow. You can't float through your current career in hopes of landing a better one down the line. You can't blow off building a better team and think one will magically appear at your next staff meeting.

It doesn't matter if you work to live or live to work. Work is where you'll spend 2000 hours this year alone. Over a 40 year work span, that's 80,000 hours. That sounds like a lot...until you realize that's all you get. And tomorrow you will have 8 hours less than you do today.

Today is the day to build something great.
Today is the day to repair a broken relationship with a boss, employee, or colleague.
Today is the day to freely hand out praise and compliments up and down the ladder.
Today is the day to focus.
Today is the day to collaborate.
Today is the day to create.
Today is the day to stop procrastinating.
Today is the day to start something important.
Today is the day to do your best work.
Today is the day to be the best you.

Today is all you get. I can't wait to see what you do with your today.

P.S. So, what will you do it it? Leave a comment and let us all know.


P.P.S. That cat in the picture? Yeah, he's a celebrity with his own blog and everything -- www.romeothecat.com  He's even raised tens of thousands of dollars for pet charities. He's livin' like he's only got one life. Know what I'm sayin'?

Don't Play to Win

Thought I'd get your attention with that title. Don't play to win. That's almost blasphemy!

This past weekend, I was involved in two amazing events: The Cap City Half Marathon and the Tremont Elementary Girl Scout Talent Show.

14,000 people participated in the half marathon. About 14 Girl Scouts participated in the talent show.

Notice I didn't say "competed." That's because, honestly, there were only about 3 people in both events that really competed. The rest just participated.

Neither of these events is really about winning. Sure, there's always some superhuman that can run a 2-minute mile and likes to rub it in all of our faces. And there's always that one girl who would win American Idol if they let 9-year olds on the show.

But the rest of us, we do it for the fun. We do it for the thrill of putting ourselves out there. For the simple feeling of accomplishment when we push ourselves 13.1 miles or pick up that microphone and sing in front a crowd.

But what about work? What do you do that for? Do you play to win? Or do you do it for the fun, the thrill, the accomplishment?

Work is not about winning. 

Blasphemy again!

No, really. Work is not about winning. Well, for most of us it isn't. There are those few that believe in their core that winning is everything. In grade school talent shows, they were the ones who cried when they won second place (and so did their parents). 

Let me float this out there and see what you think. Work is about doing something great. Being the best you can be at what you do. Pushing yourself to improve every day. Gaining satisfaction for putting yourself out there and giving it all you've got.

When you do that, work is not about winning. Work IS winning. Every Girl Scout who participated in the talent show BEAMED with satisfaction. Everyone who finished the half marathon BEAMED with pride. Ok, after they were done wheezing and grimacing and complaining about the pain in their knees they BEAMED with pride.

99% of the runners in the race, and I'd say 100% of the girls in the talent show COULD NOT HAVE CARED LESS about who won. Nor did they care that they obviously did not win.

I didn't win the half marathon. In fact, I was in a fair amount of pain when I crossed the finish line. Heck, I didn't even beat my previous half marathon time. But, dang it, I DID IT. I joined those 13,999 other nutjobs and ran the thing. I was technically competing against all of them, yet somehow I felt like we were all in it together, not separately trying to beat each other.

Those adorable Girl Scouts were the same way. Yelling, cheering, laughing, and supporting each other. Even the ones who clearly had no chance of being chosen "best in show." Even though they didn't all win, each one rocked the house with their effort and commitment.

This is not meant to be a "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" pep talks. Of COURSE it matters if you win or lose. Winning is more fun than losing. It's true. I looked it up.

I'd just like to challenge you to think about what winning means to you. Does it mean making more money than the next guy? Does it mean having a bigger title? Corner office? Putting your competition out of business?

Or does it mean you went to work today and completely threw yourself into your work, collaborated with people you enjoy working with, overcame obstacles, and created the best (insert your product here) that you could create?

I believe if that's what winning looks like to you, it really doesn't matter if anyone else is behind you or in front of you in the race. You're not out to beat them. You're out to win YOUR race. To do the best you can do. To express YOUR talent fully in the talent show.

What's great about business is that, while sometimes there is a clear market leader, there's always room for multiple winners. Sometimes hundreds or thousands of winners. There's always room for more greatness.

Don't play to win. Play to be the best you can be. When you do, you won't always come in first place, but you will win every time.  

Turn Your Boss into a Coach

If the fifteen feet of rain we've received hasn't clued you in yet, it's Spring. In my house that means a new round of sports has begun (well it will if it ever stops raining). 

This year, the girl is playing soccer. The boy is trying baseball for the first time. And I've taken on a part-time job as sports practice and game chauffeur. And a 2nd part-time job as spectator. One thing I've noticed by having two kids in sports: sports at any level can be very physically demanding...on the parents! 

Another thing I've noticed I thought might actually be helpful to you and me in business is that every team has a coach. Not a boss. Not a supervisor. Not a president. Not a CEO. A coach.

Sure, the major leagues have layers of management from the dugout to the C-suite, but the vast majority of teams on the field and in business have a single authority figure - the coach.

Yes, there are good coaches and bad coaches. Happy, helpful coaches and foul-mouthed, fiery coaches. For the rest of this article, I'm going to picture the happy, helpful coaches in my head and I invite you to do the same.

I love how most kids treat their little league coaches. They look up to them. They instantly respect them. They learn from them. They trust them. They follow their lead. They constantly work to gain their favor. Not much in life feels better than glowing praise from the coach. Not much feels worse than believing you let the coach down.

How does that compare to the way you treat your boss?

Yeah, I know. If you answered that question honestly, it probably stung a little bit. Many people don't share the same fondness for their boss that rugrats do for their little league coaches.

But...what if you started treating your boss like a coach? Would that change your relationship for the better? Think it might change the dynamic of your team? How about the quality of your work?

"But my boss doesn't act like a coach," you say.

Here is very powerful thing to remember that will change your life if you let it: People treat you the way you train them to treat you. 

If you treat your boss like a boss, you are guaranteed to develop/maintain a boss/servant relationship. However, if you treat your boss like a coach, you're a whole lot more likely to create a coach/player relationship. Hmmm, boss/servant vs. coach/player. I'll take the 2nd one, please.

"Why should I be the one to change? My boss should change first. After all, he's the boss!" 

Umm, in case you hadn't noticed, NOTHING in life works that way. If you want to be successful in anything, especially designing and developing new relationships, there is one critical thing that must happen: you must go first. It's the only way.

Hey, bosses, same goes for you. Try viewing yourself as a coach instead of a boss. Instead of "managing" your people, try "coaching" them instead. Set the game plan, help each player understand how they best help the team, capitalize on their strengths, help them correct weaknesses, and then let them play the game! Treat them with respect, praise their good work, and gently correct their mistakes with one-on-one instruction. 

And bosses will say "I shouldn't have to coach my people, they should do their jobs well and want to improve on their own. Isn't that what they get paid for?" Let me repeat the mantra of success: you go first. It's the only way.

Here's how it can begin. Starting today:

If you're an employee:

• Respect your coach.
• Ask for advice and instruction.
• Listen to advice and instruction.
• Believe your coach has your best interest in mind, as well as that of the team's.
• Realize that you're not the only player on the team.
• Understand the coach has a difficult job.
• Take criticism for what it is: an opportunity to improve your game.

If you're a boss, I mean a COACH: 

• Respect your players.  
• Praise players when they do well.
• Instruct players one-on-one for improvement.
• Realize that all players need your coaching, both the stars and the bench warmers.
• Believe that your players want to succeed.
• Help your players succeed.

Here's what I'd really like to see. I'd like to see us drop the word, "boss", from our vocabulary and replace it with "coach."

What if you called your boss "coach" from now on? I can hear it now...

"Hey, coach, what's on the agenda today?"

"Hey, coach, here's that report you asked for."

"Hey, coach, wondered if you had a minute to help me figure something out."

"Hey, coach, great day today."

There is real power in the language we choose. You really don't need permission to do this. Just start calling your boss coach and see what happens. You could even start by saying "You know what, I view you as my coach, not just my boss. I'm going to call you coach from now on."

The added bonus? When you treat your boss like a coach, you'll instantly become a better player.