Keep Doing the Little Things…
If we don’t do the little things…they won’t trust us with the big things…
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Keep doing the little thingsโฆ
Do you ever wonder if your boss, your friends, your family, or your coworkers really understand just how much effort you put into things?ย Doesnโt it seem like we just work and work and workโฆand stress and stress and stress to do our best?ย For what?ย Do people really care?
Hereโs my takeโฆ
What if we stopped doing all those little things? Think of the negative impact that would have on our bosses, friends, family, coworkers, etc.ย The truth is sometimes the things that seem like menial tasks to us, mean the most to other peopleโฆyet we never really know how much we impact them.ย So I say keep doing the little things.
If youโre a salesperson, keep taking that extra 30 minutes to think about how to ask the right questions in the right way to the appropriate people at your client companies.ย That just might be the difference in closing the business or losing the business.
If youโre a schoolteacher, keep going in early to brush up your lesson plans for the day.ย That just might be the extra attention to detail that leads to the magical โbreakthrough momentโ for a student that is struggling.
If youโre an event planner, keep going in on your days off for that one to three hours to make sure the event goes off without any problems.ย That extra step might just be the reason youโre able to make someoneโs party, event, or meeting one of the most magical and memorable days of their life.
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If you lead a team, keep spending quality time with each individual team member.ย Keep asking them what theyโre enjoying about their experience at work, what they would like to change, and how you can help them achieve their next goal.ย Those conversations with you might just be what keeps them getting out of bed each morningโฆyour time spent talking with them may seem menial to you, but it may very well mean the world to them.
If youโre currently between jobs at the moment, keep sending those hand-written thank you cards to companies that granted you the interview.ย Keep praying.ย Keep serving.ย Keep getting after it everyday.ย That positive attitude will ultimately be what somebody somewhere will see in you, which will lead to those magical words โ YOUโRE HIRED.ย (Iโve been unemployed twice in the past 12 monthsโฆI get it.ย Just keep going OneMoreStepโฆkeep doing the little things.)
ย OneMoreStep Storiesโฆfor the road
Three weeks ago I randomly had lunch in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas employee dining room with one of the Marketing executive administrative assistants.ย I had only talked to this woman once beforeโฆeverโฆand even then our interaction was nothing more than me looking to score a quick notepad and ink pen on my first week of work.
As our lunch conversation progressed, we were truly beginning to enjoy each otherโs company.ย She told me all about how she and her husband had moved to Vegas from the east coast, and that they lived in a master planned, age 55 and over community on a golf course, which they totally love.ย I of course asked more about the golf course, what hole they lived on, what itโs like living on the course, etc.ย She went on to tell me how they have hundreds of golf balls in their garage because so many people hit them into their backyard.
I made a few joking comments about how Iโm โthat guyโ that would hit balls into her yard because Iโm not a very good golfer, and I always lose balls that way.ย I asked her if she and her husband used all the golf balls they find in the yardโฆshe said they really just sit there in the garageโฆand we left it at that.
Today I came out of the Marketing Conference Room and happened to walk right passed her deskโฆshe says, โhey Taylor, come here a secโ.ย She hands me what looks like a carton of eggs in a plastic bag.ย When I grabbed the bag from her I quickly realized that the carton was filled withโฆyepโฆgolf balls.ย She had remembered our conversation from three weeks ago, and actually thought to bring me golf balls.ย She not only heard me say that I always lose golf balls, but she also went OneMoreStep and brought golf balls all the way into work for little old me.ย Iโm up 12 golf balls now!ย
One of the Supervisors on my team loves the color โ Purple; which is fitting because the Cosmopolitan logo and much of our branding is in fact purple.ย She has purple nail polish, a purple purse, a purple cell phone, a purple hair clip, purple ringsโฆshe just loves purple.ย She also loves M&Mโs, and makes that known to our staff. ย The team has quickly learned that they can bribe her with M&Mโs to get those special scheduling requests magically approved, etc.
This particular Supervisor truly does great work, and is very well liked by all of our staff.ย The team wanted to do something to show her how much they appreciate her and how much they love her as their Supervisor.
The team all pitched in, and ordered her a gift โ M&Mโsโฆbut wait it gets betterโฆwhen she opened up the package tonight she realized they were ALL PURPLE M&Mโs!ย But waitโฆit gets betterโฆon each M&M were inscriptions with little quick one or two word kudos, โWe love uโโฆโThank you forโฆโ etc, etc. all personalized to her.ย The team not only got a gift for their Supervisor, they went OneMoreStep and thought about what she would like to have โ M&Mโs, and they went even OneMOREStep, making them all PURPLEโฆand OneMOREStep to put the little kudos phrases on all the M&Mโs.ย The Supervisor was so touched, not because of the M&Mโs, but really because of the thought that went into the gift.ย Very coolโฆand just a little example of how going OneMoreStep can truly make magic for someone.
Have a great day.
Taylor
Flash forward:
My newly released book, Ballgames To Boardrooms: Leadership, Business, and Life Lessons From Our Coaches We Never Knew We Needed is now available on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com – eBook, Paperback, and Hardcover! Published by BeyondPublishing.net/AuthorTaylorScott
Order your copy by clicking HERE.
Comments:
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mary
So proud of you! You are a fine young man and deserve every good thing. You will receive because you recognize your blessings.
Love you,
Mom
vicki
Well my friend – if anybody can carry this theme into a world where usually "the little things don't count" – you can! I applaud you for taking this to the blog level – you will be surprised how you can reach out to people through this medium. Needless to say – I am proud of you. When you are rich and famous and have a million followers on your blog – remember that I was here when you started – I am follower Number 9!
Carry on – great job Tay!
Vicki
Nick
this is a really great blog, sir! Well written and actually quite inspiring. I won't say it will get me out of bed any earlier on a Friday…but I do love the idea of just doing One More Step…whether that be kindness, effort or thoughtfulness. I think anyone in any field can apply it to their lives with probably some surprisingly good results.
You are the bomb and I'm really, really proud of everything you have done and will do!
N
MJ
One more step, one more encouraging word, one more ounce of effort…..that's the secret to being the kind of person that others are drawn to, the person that makes a difference in this world, and the secret to being happy and fulfilled. Usually, it takes people a lifetime to figure that out, but you Taylor, being the sensitive soul you are, didn't need that long to discover it. I love your blog! Keep it up so others can discover it, too.
Marianne