There is a lot to be said about the power of choice from a mental health, neurobiological and resiliency point of view, which I've covered in this blog <enter details here>
So, when I recently saw this lovely story, it really resonated with me. I hope it does with you too.
I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.
He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'
Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!
As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'
I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'
Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water, and orange juice.'
Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a lassi since I’ve never had one before.'
Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have Good Housekeeping magazine, Reader’s Digest, The Bible, and a Travel + Leisure magazine.'
As they were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'
And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the heater on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.
Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.
'Tell me, Wasu,' I was amazed and asked him, 'have you always served customers like this?'
Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about power of choice one day.'
'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.'
'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself.
Stop complaining!'
'Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'
'That hit me right,' said Wasu. He continued and said, 'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said.
'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it.
My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.'
This quirky analogy shows the power of choice as it pertains to attitude, intention, execution and reward. When Wasu made a different choice, based on research and analysis, and he followed it through consistently he saw a reward that reinforced that choice. based on that success he made more choices. Neurochemically he was getting heavy hits of dopamine - the pleasure hormone - every time he got a positive response from a customer he would release more dopamine further creating a connection between the choices he was making and the outcomes. This positive (or virtuous) circle is what the story means when it talks about soaring... that feeling of being on a high, riding the wave.... the eagle is definitely experiencing the benefits of dopamine.
if we now take this analogy and turn it into a more office-based scenario, this can be as much about the little things that you can do for your colleagues as it is for your end-customer. Keeping your jira tickets well updated daily, providing your metric MI with both fact and interpretation with ideas for improvement. Create agenda for meetings, recording the meeting to help with minute taking. create an interactive action tracker. whatever it is that is relevant to your role, and what will make life easier for the roles you interact with. That is what makes eagle soar!!
So, decide today - be an Eagle not a Duck!!
