Are you a Fred?

As some of you may know, I am a meeting planner for an educational consulting firm.  We just finished our largest annual event— a national conference that attracts 1,300 attendees from across the U.S. and Canada.   And that is where I have been lately. But now I am back and will soon be posting another conversation I had with yet another inspirational woman so check back soon.  Meanwhile, I want to talk about what our closing keynote speaker had to say...


I was really moved by our closing keynote, Mark Sanborne's message.  I thought I would share some main points with you as they benefit us all, no matter what line of work you are in.  Mark talked about his mailman- yes I said his mailman.  Mark explained how his mailman, Fred, was an ordinary man who provided extraordinary customer service.  Mark was actually so taken back by Fred's "spirit of service" and other "Fred's" that he met along the way that he wrote a book called The Fred Factor— a national best seller.  This book contains as Mark says "the simple yet profound lessons" that he has learned from all the "Fred's"that he has encountered along the way.  And according to Mark Sanborne, by applying the four following principals, it's possible to do extraordinary work— just like Fred.


1.  Everyone Makes a Difference: no matter your job title or your role within a company, you have the power to make a difference. You choose whether or not your work is exceptional.  It's up to you.


2.  Everything is Built on Relationships: According to Mark Sanborne, "Service becomes personalized when a relationship exists between the provider and the customer." By taking the time to understand the customer,  that information can be used to provide better service.  Fred is proof that, in any job or business, relationship building is the most important objective because the quality of the relationship differentiates the quality of the product or service" says Mark.  Are you taking the time to really get to know your customer? Depending on your industry, your customer can be a colleague, a client, a patient, a student, etc.


3.  You must continually create value for others, and it doesn't have to cost a penny: Creating value for a customer goes a long way and you don't have to spend money in order to do so.  According to Mark, "you too can replace money with imagination. The object is to outthink your competition rather than outspend them."


4.   You can reinvent yourself regularly: You awake every morning to a clean slate.  It is your opportunity to re-invent yourself and focus on putting the passion and drive back into your life and work.


Are you a Fred?  If not, focus on what is holding you back from doing extraordinary work.  You owe it your employer, your customers, and most importantly to you to live and work with passion and a "spirit of service".


[I briefly summarized Mark Sanborne's four principles here.  For a more in depth explaination and to learn more about the "original Fred" and the extraordinary service he provided, visit http://www.fredfactor.com/]