Be Invested in the Game

Shortly before she died, I was talking with my Mom in her hospital room and she mentioned that many years before, when I was working in the Ice Cream department that she used to go and watch me work.

I thought at first that I had misunderstood her, but when she said it a second time, I questioned her and then I asked her why. “I never saw you watching me,” I said.  

“No, I never let you know that I was there.”

“Why were you watching me?” I asked.  

My Mom smiled, as only she could, and said, “To make sure you were working hard, Danny.”

Many times over the years as I was growing up and going to school, my Mom always told me, “I don’t care what you do when you grow up, just as long as you do it to the best of your ability.  If you do that Danny, you’ll love almost any job.”

My Mom was right…

The Essential Lesson:  If you want your team to deliver the best customer service in their industry they must be invested in the game.  

They must care about being the best.  Every day they come to work, they need to be enthusiastic and involved in delivering the absolute best service experience possible.  That is the only way to get it done. 

Your people must know “the plan” and they have to “watch themselves”.  If they don’t care, you will never achieve greatness in YOUR industry.  

The only way they will care is if you care about them, lead them, inspire them, and reward them.  The most important reward is recognition when they do a great job, but something they can spend goes a long way too!  CEO’s love their bonuses!