Are You Doing The Real Job?

This morning, I experienced an employee so focused on doing his job that he missed the reason for his job—satisfying customers.

I went to a grocery store to purchase cream cheese. Because I seldom grocery shop, my wife had given me in-store location directions for the product: “On the left side of the store in the dairy section.” The dairy section proved to have more that cream cheese. I found milk, orange juice, butter, eggs and yogurt, but no cream cheese. I spotted a store employee bending over the dairy case fronting and replacing cheese. I saw hope and moved beside him. I asked, “Where is the cream cheese?” Without looking to his left to see me and remaining bent over and continuing to restock the cheese, he grunted, “down there.” That was it. I got the message. I was an interruption of his morning and an impediment to him accomplishing his job.

I went down there, found my product and moved to the checkout counter.  As I glanced back, the employee was still bent over the display case stocking product—doing his job. He never understood helping me have a great experience, though not written in his employee manual, was his real job.

Andrew Carnegie, the self-made steel tycoon and philanthropist of the 19^th century, was once asked the reason why so many people fail in life. He said, “There are two types of people who never achieve very much in their lifetimes. One is the person who won’t do what he or she is told to do, and the other is the person who does no more than he or she is told to do.” Carnegie had observed that people failed for one of two reasons: they won’t do or they do only the minimum.

Successful people do more than is expected or required.

Three Point Success Summary

SUCCESS THOUGHT: Often it is the small acts that make a big difference. A little extra thought, attention and effort may not change the world but, that extra can make someone feel extraordinary.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “The one thing that separates the successful people from the ones who aren’t is the willingness to work very, very hard.”  —Helen Gurley Brown

SUCCESS ACTION: Today and every day focus on how you can make someone’s encounter with you a positive memorable experience.

BOOK REMINDER—My e-book—“Mentor In The Mirror”—is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iBooks. Go to my web site: www.waynenalls.com for additional information