The power of One

[Phil Haussler]

Today Seth Godin posted about Greg, an engaged parking lot attendant, who saved his stray luggage from the abyss. Something tells me Godin will park at this lot every time he returns to JFK.

We all have a Greg... somebody who has gone above and beyond the call of duty and now embodies a company or brand in our mind. For me it's Carlo, who last week restored my faith in Dell computers. Shortly after buying my laptop, the fan cover broke inward, prevented the fan from running and burnt up some critical -- heat-sensitive -- innards. Carlo promptly scheduled repair, sent me shipping boxes, resent me boxes when the cleaning crew tossed the first, followed up several times, and has been a good human being throughout.

Think if you could engage 100 Gregs. Or 10,000 Carlos. Who is your Greg?

[David Zinger]

I love the idea of this forum.

One book that outlines this is the Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn.

I appreciate the personalization of this.

I have a lot of Gregs I have encountered.

Dennis, a worker in a quarry, who experienced horrific abuse as a child yet transformed himself into a very loving and caring man who by example became the spirit of engagement at that site.

Cal, who seemed very disengaged, but who cared passionately for other employees and was there to really help them get back on track if they experienced high levels of disengagement.

I salute the workers, who engage with their work, with their customers, with others.

And I also believe it is very important for all of us to remember we are workers whether we are volunteers, CEOs, independent consultants, managers, union members, professionals, etc. etc.

From one to oneness!

Tomorrow, I will be posting an article on my blog about Elizabeth, an artists who has much to teach us about engagement. Click here on Monday morning to read that article.

[Varadarajan]

" We all have a Greg.."
Absolutely. I will go as far as to say the silent warriors like Greg are the ones that make customers stick with your company and bring the money to run the payroll for the CXOs..

Some of the Gregs I Have worked with ..

Tandy , who tolied in a remote customer location all through the night to repair the computer that hosted the factory automation software of the customer.

Goga, who almost caused a security breach at the local airport while reaching a replacement part to a company executive who was about to board a flight to a destination where another executive was in need of the same to serve a critical customer...

Engaged frontline employees provide memorable customer experiences ... absoultely true.
Great post and a very welcome forum

[Judy McLeish]

Thank you for sharing this. Have you read the book The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn? It is a terrific read about the "power of one" and what companies can do to foster engaged employees.

[Terrence Seamon]

Phil,
I am a big fan of the power of one.

After Hurricane Katrina struck, a couple of guys at my church in New Jersey said to my pastor, "We want to do something to help." But what could a few guys do in the face of such immense devastation?

After we connected with a local pastor down in New Orleans, they drove down to his parishes there and pitched in with the clean-up effort. A year later, they went back again to help rebuild some houses. This year, they are planning their third trip.

Imagine if enough "Gregs" all pitched in to help a cause, say poverty or hunger. We could change the world.

Terry

[Mike Healy]

Let me tell you a story that illustrates the POWER OF ONE.

John Woolman was an American Quaker who lived in the 1700s, when many Quakers were wealthy slave owners. He dedicated his adult life to eliminating slavery among his people.

Woolman spent more than 20 years visiting Quakers along the East Coast. He pursued his mission through the art of gentle persuasion. He did not criticize people, nor did he make them angry. He merely asked questions like, “What does it mean to be a moral person? What does it mean to own a slave?” Driven by his vision, he persisted, visiting farm after farm.

By 1770, a century before the Civil War, not one Quaker owned a slave. The Quakers were the first religious group to denounce and renounce slavery.

This story was told by Robert Greenleaf famous for his work on servant leadership.

Sometimes I wonder if employee engagement is more about this kind of one to one conversation than it is about systems, processes, rewards etc. It takes such a long time to create, but it does last for a long time too!

[Terrence Seamon]

Great story, Mike.

Reminds me of the concept "nemawashi" meaning "going around the roots" by methodically going and talking to people who are stakeholders around a decision, gathering support and feedback, thereby laying the foundation for the proposal.

Terry

[David Zinger]

Terrence,
I have never heard the term nemawashi before. Thank you for the Wikipedia link- this may help lay the groundwork for a few things I am involved in.

Mike,
Good points about the power of the one and the connection. I think it is such a key way to engage by being engaged with others.

I believe that in powerful engagement there is a spiritual component. It may be religious but overall I simply define spiritual as a focus beyond yourself in the service of others...good definition for leadership intervention in engagement.

I am always inspired by the anecdote and the story of first person singular. I have seen far too many statistics.

Speaking of statistics, here is a good translation of stats into a story by Stephen Covey cited in that wonderful book, Made to Stick:

Here is an example taken from a poll of 23,000 employees cited in Stephen Covey’s, The 8th Habit:

1. Only 37 percent said they have a clear understanding of what their organization is trying to achieve and why.

2. Only 20 percent were enthusiastic about their team’s and their organization’s goals; said they have a clear link between their tasks and their team’s organizational goals; and, fully trusted the organization they worked for.

3. Only 15 percept felt that their organization fully enables them to execute key goals
Stephen Covey made the idea sticky by using this soccer analogy:

If a soccer team had these same scores, only 4 of the 11 players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only 2 of the 11 would care. Only 2 of the 11 would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but 2 players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.

The story captures me instantly while the stats seem significant but just don't stick.

If you are interested I produced a 16 page free PDF booklet applying Made to Stick to Engagement last year. Click the link that follows to get the booklet: Made To Stick and Employee Engagement Booklet.pdf.

[Phil Haussler]

Hey David -- Made to Stick is my favorite marketing book of all time. Checking out your booklet applying its concepts to engagement soon.

All -- Thoroughly enjoying all of the anecdotes you've added to this discussion. Best
Phil

[Mike Healy]

Hi Terry,

Thanks. I had never heard of nemawashi but I am familair with the conceot of "preparing the ground" when transplanting. ( Back to garden analogies again)

So many organisational strategies founder on the rocks of implementation because the organisation and its people had not been sufficiently prepared to allow them to take root. Good to know we have a term ( albeit Japanese) we can now use for this. Worked for "kaizen"

[Steve Maffei]

Phil-

Great post. I've got an "Anthony" who is my A/C guy. He's always thorough, professional, friendly and takes the time to clearly explain any repair that is needed, as well as providing me with the "no BS, no scare tactic" ramifications of not making a particular repair at that time. Living in Texas, a healthy A/C is a big deal. Anthony doesn't own the company, but certainly represents it excellently each day. I ask for him every time I need an appointment.

PS> Terry, thanks for introducing me to the term "nemawashi" - such a fundamental concept in exacting effective change.