Passion and Service

“When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”

Recently, while back in Toronto I was out with a friend and had two very interesting experiences. In preparation for a trip south I decided to pop into a store to pick up a new bathing suit. As we entered the Bikini Village store at Yorkdale, there were two female employees there and no customers. We went to the men’s section and even at 6’ tall I had to tip toe a bit to reach the Nike pairs I was interested in. Not once did one of the retail clerks ask if I needed help. I made my way to the dressing room, tried on 3 pairs, one of which I decided to purchase. The Clerk went to the cash to ring it in. I asked “May I ask how long you’ve worked here?”  "This February marks four years” she replied. She gave me the item in a bag and we walked out. My pal Glo and I both remarked on the ineffective shopping/service experience - this would not be our first place of choice to shop at in the future.

On the way home I stopped at a full service gas station (Yonge &York Mills) given the cold temperatures. The gentleman who politely served us with a smile asked if I needed my oil checked, to which I replied “No thanks”. He then proceeded to clean the front and  rear windshields (without being asked) which were quite dirty. When he returned for my credit card he had quite the smile, despite the frigid temperature. He returned again for my signature, and I was happy to give him some cash for a cappuccino in gratitude for his service.

By way of context, in the former case the young ladies were no older than mid 20’s while in the latter the gentleman appeared no younger than 50.

Two points of reflection:

Leadership and Mining...

The world watched this week as 33 Chilean miners, trapped for over 2 months, were rescued. can you imagine what it would be like, trapped over 700 metres below ground in absolute darkness? Over the next month or so, we'll see many interviews and perspectives on the tragedy and triumph that took place. How did they cope? How was their mental and physical health? How did they organize themselves? Who offered leadership?

This was an example of just how the human spirit can prevail under extreme circumstances. But as we know, it does not always turn out this well. Likewise in this economy, while many organizations are struggling, others are rallying staff and surviving - if not thriving - just fine. What makes the difference between the sad stories of failure, and the triumphs of celebrated success?