During the course of a business day you go through lots of emotions. As a manager, a tremendous number of twists and turns can happen in an hour let alone in a full day of work.
I recently watched a video that really got me to think. I thought I would share it with you. I promise you it will be 3 minutes well spent today:
As I was watching the video, my mind was racing and my emotions were all over the place. Yes I thought Johnny was going to die. I thought so not once, but twice.
There were so many messages in the video:
- EVERYONE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- EVERYONE CAN HAVE A PERSONAL SIGNATURE ON THEIR JOB
- IDEAS COME FROM THE HEART
Will you be a Johnny today? I know I will be trying really hard!
I look forward to hearing your comments and what you felt while you watched the video.
Stephenie King Gordon says:
ok – that video made me cry, seriously…
i am sharing this with my entire staff, thank you.
Magda Cooling says:
We have that book, The Simple Truths of Service, for all our Qualitative Assistants to read! I think I’ll go get a few more copies so every level of our Staff reads it. My morning started off with a Classroom Parent Rep Meeting at my kids Elementary School – we were thanked for taking the time to help out OUR children and their School. Sure, most of us are working Moms with quite a few other commitments, but we can squeeze a little more time to help others. Everyone can.
Paul Kirch says:
What a great message and reminder. It’s easy to forget what a difference we can make if we just start thinking of how to reach out to our clients (and others in our life)..
janet savoie says:
My daughter sent me this:
Great Service Is a Choice
(Excerpt from The Simple Truths of Service)
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No one can make you serve customers well. That’s because great service is a choice. Years ago, my friend, Harvey Mackay, told me a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point. He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey. He handed my friend a laminated card and said:
“I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.”
Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said:
Wally’s Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest,
safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!
As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.”
My friend said jokingly, “No, I’d prefer a soft drink.”
Wally smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.”
Almost stuttering, Harvey said, “I’ll take a Diet Coke.”
Handing him his drink, Wally said, “If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.”
As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. “These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.”
And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.
“Tell me, Wally,” my amazed friend asked the driver, “have you always served customers like this?”
Wally smiled into the rearview mirror. “No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You’ll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.’”
“That hit me right between the eyes,” said Wally. “Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.”
“I take it that has paid off for you,” Harvey said.
“It sure has,” Wally replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.”
Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.
I hope you take the “wisdom of Wally” and put it to work in your life.
Naomi Walters says:
I have had the opportunity to “meet” Barbara Glanz via email and try to get her to be a presenter for us. What an inspiration she is and this is just so “like her.” I have not met Ken Blanchard but think he must be on the same track – thanks for taking the time to send this along to all of us! Makes us want to do a better job each day! Thanks!