GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT

I read an article about a baseball player who was pulled from the lineup for not giving it his all.  Yes, a baseball player who makes millions of dollars for playing the game of baseball, pulled from the game for just jogging to the field and not running.
         
This whole situation made me think, at many different levels.  Yes, he is a highly paid athlete.  But really, what does that have to do with anything?  Should we have higher expectations for those who make more money or might be more famous?
         
Let’s put this into perspective.  If you owned your own company but couldn’t pay your employees millions, would you still expect them to give their all?  And although you most likely don’t make millions, do you give it your all?  It really has so little to do with the money and so much to do with our own willingness to give our job and our customers what they deserve.
         
I know, you are still thinking about the millions.  You can’t get stuck on that.  You have to decide that putting higher expectations on others, no matter how much they make, just does not make any sense.  Why do we hold others to a higher standard?  Instead of doing that, why no spend time improving the standard we hold for ourselves.
         
So let’s start with the real reason the baseball player was benched.  He wasn’t showing enough effort in getting onto the field.  So, when you come to work and encounter your first customer, how are you perceived?  Are you full of energy and smiling and ready to assist the customer in every way possible?  Or is a less-than-desirable day where you have dragged yourself out of bed and did well just to get to work?  What can you do to put some effort into “getting on the field”.
         
Let’s stay with the baseball theme.  I was attending a local semi-professional baseball game.  When the players were not on the field, they were sitting on the right field fence, there to be able to meet and greet fans.  I saw a small boy, about four, approach the player on the end.  He handed him a ball.  So imagine, a four-year-old boy, handing this larger-than-life ball player, a baseball, hoping it will come back autographed.  The player took the ball without making any eye contact with the child.  He autographed it, passed it down the line for autographs and once finished handed it back to the boy, again with no eye contact and no conversation.  You see, the conversation he was having (and apparently to him, more important at that time, was with the other players). 
         
Let’s bring this example back to your business.  Are you present with the customer in front of you?  Do you give them your undivided attention?  Are you ending your conversations with the co-workers when a customer approaches?
         
Think about it.  The goal is always to bring the best to your customers – every single minute of every single day!