All this week I’m talking about ‘WII FM’ (“What’s In It For Me?”) as I attempt to summarize the benefits from being a creative and working with a coach.
The best coaches tell memorable stories that stay with you as valuable life-lessons.
I’m actually a great fan of McDonald’s. Not the food particularly, but I do like to visit different outlets when I’m out and about – especially in different countries – and generally I’m in awe at the consistency of this company’s product.
Consistency is king.
But what does vary is the service – and it’s this that fascinates me; particularly observing the workforce, the majority of whom are younger than 25, and generally on their way to a different career altogether. I have been served by hugely attentive order-takers, who manage efficiency and accuracy with good humour and pleasant conversation; and equally by some with a disinterested, sloppy attitude. I mean, how hard is it to mess-up an order for a quarter-pounder with medium fries?
Be the best you can be, at whatever you’re doing. You never know who’s watching…
One day, when he was still the richest man in the world, John Paul Getty was drinking in a hotel bar. The young barman was attentive and fastidious in keeping the bar clean, wiping the surface, filling the nuts tray and topping up the olives. John Paul asked him if he’d always wanted to be a barman.
“Oh no sir, no, not all… It’s not for me. I’d like to be successful in business one day.”
Before he left, Mr. Getty gave the young bartender his business card, and asked him to make an appointment to see him the next day.
He had a job for him.
“Anyone who tends a bar so meticulously as I’ve watched you do, is someone I need in my organization.”
I’m not John Paul Getty, but it’s easy to spot who will be successful in whatever they later choose to pursue as a career, by the way that they’re holding down what they might otherwise think of as a menial job.
A work ethic pays. A commitment to good service pays. It does get noticed.
The waiting list for my coaching services and details of my coaching content, including how to download my free eBook on the benefits of coaching for creatives, awaits you here:
www.soundproducer.com.au/coaching
(Joining the waiting list is a non-committal way to receive more details and to arrange a 1-to-1 Zoom call to discuss your own needs.)
[Picture: One weekend in four, I work as a Coast Guard. I leave home at 4:30am on my motorcycle, arrive at McDonald’s in Redcliffe for breakfast at 5:30am, so that I’m ready, if necessary, to go to sea at 6 am, sometimes for hours at a time. I appreciate the good service and the good humour I receive at such an unholy hour.]
