I was reading this morning and loved this story…..Walt Bettinger, CEO of Charles Schwab, had 4.0 in college until he took his final in one course. He got the test which was a blank piece of paper. He turned it over and it, too was blank. The professor said to them, “I’ve taught you everything I can about business in these ten weeks, but the most important message, the most important question is this: What’s the name of the lady who cleans this building?” Derringer had no idea and failed the test, brining his grade to a B. It was the only B he received, but it was this one experience, that taught him to open to the world. From that point he didn’t look through people, even if they were doing a job that might be considered menial by some.
Inspired by the story, I walked into church this morning. The shy little man who passed out the papers at church looked at me and said good morning as he had for the last 7 years. I never said anything other than “Hi” before. Today I said, “Good morning, how are you? I have seen you here every week for years. My name is Sean.” He replied, “I am Bill,” with the biggest smile I had ever seen.
And I thought I was good this stuff but today I learned a valuable lesson. If our purpose, both personally and as a company is important, we need to do this kind of thing daily. “To Positively Impact Lives”
Will you join me in recognizing people? Vince, the Homeless guy who walks by your hotel? Bill at the entrance of Church? Sam, the parking lot attendant that Paul Lohnes delivers coffee to daily. Or that little old lady sitting on the bench by herself.
I’d love to hear your stories on the Maine Course Facebook Page