The Privilege Of Investing In Others

We had the wonderful opportunity today to have a senior high student come and shadow us at our office.  There is no greater thrill than being able to invest time in sharing about managing a business and encouraging a young person who will be headed off to college to seek the job that the will enjoy for their working lifetime.  She came prepared with plenty of questions for me on managing the office, what I liked best and what were my challenges.  Last summer she had the privilege of working in a large hospital system for an internship and she wanted to know if in our office we experienced co-worker conflict and if so what did we do about it. She said at her summer job this was a bit of a problem and they had to have a couple of meetings to address issues between staff members.  She then told me that this really opened her eyes because she didn’t realize that adults would behave this way at work.  It brought back memories for myself when I first started working at a financial institute and found that there was gossip and backbiting between the staff members.  I was a bit shocked because just getting out of high school and experiencing this a lot, I too thought that “adults” would not behave this way.

I was able to tell her that at times we have had employees that did try to “stir the pot” between co-workers, but that our policy is that we have open communication with each other and if there are issues that we work through them face-to-face.  I tried to explain that even though people have reach adulthood, it does not mean that they know how to get along and communicate well with one another, plus there can be personality rubs, but if a manager is on top of things they will work hard to create a work environment that discourages this type of behavior. She was glad to hear that.  We also talked about handling mistakes and that in our office we all can admit when we have made a mistake and that we try hard not to, but it is just a fact of life, mistakes will happen.  It is having accountability for them that makes the difference and the willingness to make things right and to try hard not to repeat the mistake.  She really liked the fact that we value honesty, ethics and integrity and felt that it made a much better work place when you can trust people.

I had her shadow the other staff members and learn about their job duties and how it takes a team working together to make a practice successful.  I really enjoyed listening to the answers the other staff members gave her when she asked the same questions as she asked me.  There was an underlying foundation in all of their answers and I could hear from them how we all “sealed” together by our office culture and desire to make our medical practice one that we love to come to each day and one that our patients love to come to when they need us.

This evening I heard from one of her parents, who thanked me for allowing her to come and shadow us today.  They said that she really liked our office and was excited about how we all really enjoyed what we do each day together and for our patients.  What a privilege it was to be able to invest in this young person.  I think we got more out of having her there than she did being their because it inspired us to continue to work hard to keep the work environment we have healthy and strong. Not that we didn’t realize that we have created a good work environment, but it was a good reminder for us once we had the opportunity to share it with someone.

Sunday Evening Thought…..

“For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.”

― Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

Sunday Evening Thought…..

 

A first-rate organizer is never in a hurry. He is never late. He always keeps up his sleeve a margin for the unexpected.

                                                                                                       ~Arnold Bennett

Sunday Evening Thought….

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. ~Author Unknown

Sunday Afternoon Thought…

“There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein

Are You A Leader?

“Rely on your own strength of body and soul. Take for your star self-reliance, faith, honesty and industry. Don’t take too much advice — keep at the helm and steer your own ship, and remember that the great art of commanding is to take a fair share of the work. Fire above the mark you intend to hit. Energy, invincible determination with the right motive, are the levers that move the world.”
~Noah Porter

Think Ahead

Think ahead, if you could do one thing tomorrow at work that would make the day a better one for you and those you work with what would it be? Now take the challenge and try it you have nothing to lose, but you could gain a lot ground with those you work with.

Your Wish Is My Command

Here is a cute story with a humorous morale that does make you remember to listen to management first, then give your input.

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish” “Me first! Me first!” says the admin. clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone. “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii,relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say. ~ Author Unknown

Let Freedom Ring

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776

What If You Drove a Cab?….Making A Difference At Work

“People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.”

~author unknown

The other day I had to take a business trip, upon landing at the airport I asked an information person if I could walk to the hotel where the meeting was being held and he suggested I take a cab, even though it was only a few miles away the only way to get their was on the freeway.  I proceeded to the ground transportation area and looked on the board to see if the hotel had a shuttle, and it did not.  I went over to the cab line and told the person where I needed to go and he hailed a cab for me.  Once I got into the cab and told the driver where I needed to go he became irate with me and said “why didn’t you take a hotel shuttle?”  I told him that there were not shuttles to the hotel and I needed to go to a meeting right away.  He again in a pretty nasty voice said “you should have called the hotel it is not far away.”  I told him I needed to get to a meeting and asked if he was going to take me.  He was so angry because the trip was so short, he made remarks in his native language, which I could only imagine what he was saying and drove a bit erratically. To say the least I was pretty uncomfortable.  Upon arriving at the hotel (thank goodness it was only about 8 minutes away) I thanked him and asked if I could have a receipt and he threw it in the back seat.  I gave him a couple of dollars for a tip (only because I did not have the correct change and wanted to get out of the cab ASAP) and told him to have a nice day, upon which he said something (I am sure it was not nice) and drove off making a squealing noise with his tires.  As I sat having a cup of coffee, I pondered why would someone like him would be in the customer service business when he made it very evident it was all about him and not his customer.  Let’s move ahead six hours in the day and I need a cab to head back to the airport to go home.  The person at the front desk calls me a cab and I am thinking (oh please let it not be the same driver).  Ten minutes later a nice man pulls up and I hesitantly tell him that I just need a ride back to the airport and he states “hop in I can get you there right away.”  He has a wonderful smile and begins asking me all about where I was from and how was our weather, what do I do for a living, and what brought me to his city.  He was delightful, charming, thoughtful, engaging, and down right a sweet man.  Upon arriving at the airport I gave him more for his tip than it was for the ride and he was shocked.  I then told him my experience from the cab driver in the morning, and he said he was very sorry that I had encountered such an unhappy man.  I told him that he made a difference in my short drive and that is what customer service is all about, making a good experience for your customers and if it takes going the extra mile you do it.  He thanked me and said that he was glad it was him that picked me up and I was in total agreement with him.  It really doesn’t matter if our encounters with our customers are long or short, it is how they remember their time with us.

The story below is about a cab driver who understood that there is something wonderful about serving his clients with his whole heart.  The link below will take you to the article in full, read it and then share it. 

 

The Cab Ride

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But, I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxi’s as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. The passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked. “Just a minute,” answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.  After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then turned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

“It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said.  When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.” I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

The Cab Ride (story in full)