Because of Me

My wife and I are natives of Kansas. There is a debate across the nation on the merits of barbeque from Kansas City, through Memphis, to North Carolina and back to Texas. I personally like them all, but Kansas City style is my favorite. I grew up with it. When we moved to Texas almost 8 years ago, I had to find some great Texas barbeque. I decided on Rudy’s as my favorite. Not because it’s the best food- it’s good, but not my favorite by taste, but because of the great service.

For those of you who have not been to a Rudy’s, they are located in upscale gas and C-stores in Texas. I recently visited the one at 620 and 2222 in Austin and took this photo of their mission. I love this mission statement and I believe it permeates through the staff at Rudy’s. They are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. They want you to be delighted.
I’ve read about a phenomenon that takes place in crowds where if someone needs help, they are less likely to get it. It seems that in a group of people they assume someone else will help. It works that way in business and in life. It’s not my responsibility, it’s someone else’s.

In the past year our church has grown over 30%. In that timeframe our Children’s church has grown from 22 to nearly 80 with the same amount of volunteers. We could not get anyone to sign up when we asked for it. We suggested it, and told them there were signup sheets in the hallway. No one signed up. Last week I shared with the congregation this photo of Rudy’s mission. I suggested it wasn’t someone else’s problem; it was a challenge for all of us and then passed around signup sheets immediately after I addressed them. We had 43 new volunteers.

In our consulting business we see this frequently. When we identify new opportunities and build a go to market strategy for our customers, their teams are apprehensive about the change. We have around 20% of the population in a customer’s team that sees the vision and moves forward to execute on their own. An additional 50% straddle the fence, do nothing and wait to see if the new strategy is going to work. Finally 30% of the population actively resists the changes and fights to keep the status quo. Our leverage point is the 50% who are waiting to see if it works. We encourage them to act. Don’t wait on the strategy to work, drive it to work. Don’t depend on or wait for others to take action. If it is to work, it is because of me. Just like Rudy’s.

Look at your life, your business. What are you looking for others to do before you take action? What can you do to delight the “customer”? What can you do to “guarantee that every customer is delighted because of me”?

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Featured