Take Pride in the Details … Even When No One Sees What You’re Doing

Even when no one sees what you’re doing, taking pride in the details will set you far above the rest. Recently we were having a couple of security issues in our neighborhood, and our homeowners’ association had my wife call the paper delivery guy to find out if he had noticed anything else happening around our streets at 3:30 in the morning, which is when Don delivers our morning paper. He replied no, he hadn’t noticed anything, and then he went on to ask my wife if we were satisfied with his delivery. She mentioned, “Actually, it would be really good if you could, instead of throwing the paper on the edge of the grass, if you just throw it about half a foot over onto our driveway.” A reasonable request, and also a first-world problem. Don replied, “Actually there’s a reason why I drop it right on the grass verge. Firstly it’s easy to get to, but secondly, if I land it on the cement on your driveway, the cement can put little holes in the plastic bag, and when your sprinklers come on your newspaper gets soaked.” This was impressive because it showed us that Don pays attention to the details. He specifically takes pride in delivering that paper right on the grass verge, where it’s easy to walk out on the driveway and pick it up, versus landing it on the cement where it’s going to get nicked, scratched and opened up and then get soaked. No one sees this. This is a guy doing his job at 3:30 in the morning. It’s not going to occur to anyone that he’s taken care of those details – until now. It occurred to us when he told us, and we’re really impressed. So, we’re telling you about Don so plenty more people are finding out about Don and his phenomenal service.

You need to take the same approach with your clients, and, frankly, with anything you’re doing, especially when it involves other people.

So, 1. Review your motivation for how you interact with other people. How do you leave them feeling after they’ve had an encounter with you? 2. Look for ways to enhance their circumstances, even if they don’t notice that. 3. Take pride in delivering that extra service – those extra fine points that they may never notice – in how you serve them. If they don’t notice, that doesn’t matter – you know, most importantly, that you’ve done the most phenomenal job for your ability. That’s really what counts at the end of the day.