Category: Commentary

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Ships Passing

Earlier this week I stepped on an empty express elevator in a downtown high-rise occupied by a single large company, and behind me came an employee pushing a mail cart. Even though this is a tall building – and I’m only there about five days each month – our paths have crossed several times. He said hello and offered a smile.

After pushing the button to take us down to the ground floor, I asked, “How long have you worked here?” He answered, “A long time.” I said, “How long?” He looked up at the lighted numbers counting down from 46, paused, turned back to me, grinned, and said, “This week is 30 years.”

The elevator stopped, the door opened and he exited while offering a nod, focused on delivering letters and packages to their recipients. I headed to the parking garage, thinking, “There’s someone who seems at peace.” Then it occurred to me that I didn’t ask the gentleman’s name and know nothing else about him. I didn’t even think to wish him a happy anniversary.

Chalk this up as a missed opportunity… another lesson learned. Next time we ride the elevator together, I’ll be sure to ask him to share a story. I’m guessing his perspective would be quite enlightening about my client.

So, here’s the question for you: Who’s the person in your building who might brighten your day with a story? Perhaps it’s time for a visit.

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Depths of Exploration

Gloria Stuart passed away recently. She was 100… born on the Fourth of July in the year our nation celebrated the 134th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. She was a beautiful actress during the early years of ‘talkies,’ and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. Then Gloria quit making films to raise a family. Fifty years later she reappeared, playing the aging role of Kate Winslet’s character Rose in Titanic, and became the oldest person to be nominated for an Academy Award.

“When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed,” she said. “I didn’t realize it would take so long.”

Stuart touched movie watchers when Rose tossed the ‘Star of the Sea’ sapphire into the ocean at the end of the film. It was a symbolic gesture that served as an exclamation point and soft landing following the intense drama surrounding the depiction of the sinking of the unsinkable ship.

She also should serve as motivation for everyone who wakes up in the morning tired and weary from daunting challenges. After all, if Gloria Stuart – who appeared in films with Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton and a seven-year-old Shirley Temple… all before 1936 – can deliver a wonderful performance as she approached 90, shouldn’t all of us be able to make it through the next day with a little more energy in our step?

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Zoom Zoom Zoom

Our middle child – and only son – turns 16 today. That means this afternoon we’re heading to the Department of Public Safety where he’ll take his driver’s license test. As he’s spent a lot of hours behind the wheel since getting his learner’s permit, I’m confident he’ll pass in flying colors. (That’s assuming he can overcome the pesky parallel parking that trips up so many.)

The concern I have is putting a young man who’s growing up in the video game generation – where there’s always a reset button – on the road. It’s not so much I’m worried about how he’ll do. It’s all those folks who blow through stop signs, speed through changing lights and cut in and out of traffic like they’re late for claiming a lottery grand prize. Face it, driving is a lot different today than when I got my license nearly 35 years ago; although we definitely did our fair share of ‘what were we thinking’ things.

There are several parallels between driving and business. First, obviously you can’t just hit ‘start new game’ when things don’t go as planned. You have to get out the map and chart a new course. Second, there are a lot of road hazards, and you have to pay attention at every turn or someone or some thing may come shooting at you out of nowhere. Third, you’re going to make a few poor judgment calls, and all you can do is head to the repair shop, bang out the dent and get back on the road to success.

The best thing about having a son receive his driver’s license is he can now chauffeur our youngest to after-school activities… assuming,  of course, I actually ever let him leave the house.

[Prior to allowing our son to climb into the driver’s seat, we mutually agreed to abide by the guidelines below – and I referred back to them on several occasions. My apologies to the author for not remembering where on the Internet I found this; full credit belongs to him/her.]

Reminder Notes before I get in the car with my son…

> I love my son!

> My son loves me!

> If we are running late – don’t let him drive.

> If it is a really tough time to drive or we are going to an awkward destination, don’t let him drive.

> If he misses an instruction or doesn’t understand an instruction or is confused, the default is to go straight ahead or keep going.

> Any criticisms I make are not personal; they are about making improvements.

> I want him to be safe on the roads.

> There are to be no arguments about my criticisms until we have finished the drive. Then we can disagree!

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Mental Telepathy

Inevitably whenever I’m watching a sports event on television, I’ll make a comment at a critical moment and the announcer immediately repeats it. Last night, just before Boise State went on its BCS-saving last-minute touchdown drive, I started singing, “Felix the cat, the wonderful wonderful cat… whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks.” Within five seconds, Kirk Herbstreit said, “I wonder if the Broncos will reach into their bag of tricks?” My son laughed and said: “Do you have a microphone directly into their headsets?” My response: “I spent 15 years producing those games and the last 15 watching them as a fan, so I sort of know what they’re thinking.”

College football is my passion. Amidst mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage, doing ‘Zen and the art of automobile maintenance’ on our 10-year-old Camry, swimming and enjoying quality family togetherness this Labor Day weekend, I found time to watch ‘College Game Day’ and five football games. That’s a lot of moments to figure out what’s going on and where the announcers will take things.

The opportunity here in business is to climb into the heads of your customers (both internal and external ones) – and fully understand situations from their perspectives. Too often, leaders are so caught up in how you personally see things that you fail to consider what the view looks like from the other side of the table, or counter, or phone line, or desk. Yet stepping outside your own narrow scope opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Try it – let go of your bias – and you’ll discover the ability to anticipate what’s coming next. It’s a winning strategy in any game.

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This Will Only Hurt For A Minute

I spent a lot of hours in doctor’s offices the past few weeks – and not once did it have to do with being sick. First, there was the annual physical. Then it was off to the ‘now that you’re 50 let’s get a baseline since your father died of a heart attack’ CT scan. Next was the ‘it’s been awhile, so you need to have another colonoscopy’ consultation – to be followed soon by the actual procedure. In between was my yearly eye exam.

Results? My body is fine, my heart even better and my left eye actually improved. I’m confident the colonoscopy will show all’s clear on the southern front.

Of course, while visiting multiple medical facilities, I paid close attention to just how efficiently (or not) they operate.

My longest wait was one hour at my primary physician. I’m use to that having gone to him for the past 12 years: he has multiple offices and is only in our neighborhood one day a week, so it’s always crowded. He did spend more than an hour with me, which made the initial delay worthwhile. (The shortest wait was three minutes at the CT scanning location. Their systems are as efficient as In-N-Out Burger.)

Nurses have really difficult jobs, so I typically give them a break. There’s a lot of stress and people aren’t always polite. That said, three of them provided less-than-stellar follow-up service. I had to call my doctor’s nurse a couple of times to get test results. The eye doctor’s nurse ordered the wrong contacts, so I had to go back and exchange them. Twice I contacted the gastroenterologist and left messages, and despite the ‘she’ll call you back this afternoon’ promise… I’m still waiting.

My guess is doctors have no idea how their employees (read: health care providers) treat patients (read: customers). It’s in one waiting room and out the other for the highest educated and highest compensated person in those organizations. However, from an image standpoint, doctors would be wise to occasionally ask patients what they think of the service. Of course, it’s the same thing in your business, isn’t it? Have you done that lately?

BTW… I also went to the dentist last month. All is good – although don’t get me started on the sound of that electric cleaning utensil hygienists are using these days. Rrrrrrrrrrr

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