“Whatever you are, be a good one.” - Abraham Lincoln
The hustle and bustle of daily work-life can sometimes get in the way of what is important to your practice and to your life. In operations, there is a good deal of interaction and relationship-building that occur so as to promote and sustain a working environment that promotes trust and yields productivity. But what if those very same people come to work without what I call a “spark”? How do you motivate them? How do you help find what it is that they are passionate about during their day, and translate it to extraordinary results?
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In May of 2004, Mark Sanborn wrote “The Fred Factor,” a book that circulated like wildfire
throughout the business industry. In parable format, Mr. Sanborn describes Fred, a U.S. Postal Service employee.
The parable explains how Fred turns his less-than glamorous job into a job that is committed to customer service,
his genuine attitude towards helping others, and at the same time achieving a deeper personal satisfaction towards
his job and ultimately his life.
The principles of “The Fred Factor” are as follows:
• Principle one – Everyone makes a difference. No matter how big or how small your organization
is, an individual can make a difference.
• Principle two – Success is built on relationships. Indifferent people deliver indifferent
service. Service becomes personalized when a relationship exists between the provider and the customer.
• Principle three – You must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have
to cost a penny. Replace money with imagination. The object is to outthink your competition rather than outspend
them. In the world of business, the competition can either be inside or outside, sometimes both. That type of
competition, especially one wrapped in mediocrity threatens your ability to create value.
• Principle four – You can reinvent yourself regularly. When you’re at a low point
in your life, when your professional commitment to your job waivers and you just want to go home, ask yourself,
what can you do to reinvent and rejuvenate your day to day efforts? You can make your business, as well as your
life anything you choose it to be.
As a practice owner, office manager, or employee, ask yourself the following questions… am I passionate enough to make a difference? Do I feel that what I do every day makes a difference? Do I need to reinvent myself so that I can make a difference?
Take a moment and look around you. Find opportunities to change mundane actions into positive and productive moments. Turn your ordinary day into extraordinary!
Source: “The Fred Factor”
Doubleday 2004 |
