A Moment of Brilliance

My wife coerces me into go shopping with her because she wants us to “spend

some time” together, my thought…she wants us to “spend some money” together. I

must admit, I am not a shopper by any stretch of imagination, I am an “item hunter!” I

tell her, “Tell me what item you want, and I will hunt it down, buy it, bag it, and bring it to

you. She, on the other hand, wants me to walk with her through store after store after

store looking for the best deal which supports her statement, “Look how much money

we saved today” to which I respond, “look at us” though my mind is in a fog of shopping

frustrations.

To help curb my shopping frustration, I find myself watching people. You know,

watching the person that takes that extra step going up or down stairs, or the one who

trips stepping off the escalator, or, my favorite, watching people step in the invisible hole

in the floor and then looking around to see if anyone saw them. I am the one who likes

to wave or give a thumbs up to them, so that they know someone sees them. They hate

it when that happens.

On one such “people watching” excursion, I saw something I never expected to

see and have not forgotten it to this day. In fact, it changed my leadership practice. I

was standing outside the store where my wife was” saving us money,” and catching my

attention was a discourse between a young store associate and a customer. The

conversation between these two women was both cheerful and engaging, but that paled

to what the store owner did when she arrived on the scene.

The owner walked up to the two of them and said to the customer, “isn’t she

impressive (talking about the store associate), she is so well versed in all our apparel

and brings a smile to all those she engages.” “She certainly does,” said the customer. I

thought to myself, “how brilliant!” If you could have seen the young associate’s face as

she listened to the conversation between her boss and the customer. Her face lit up like

the noonday sun with a grin from ear to ear.

That owner, with very few words spoken indirectly, made a transformative

difference in her young colleague. Always remember, people hear and see what you

say and do. So, what are they hearing and seeing from you?