Yesterday was a day of travel for me. Up at the crack of dawn, a few car rides and two plane rides and I was at my destination.
My first flight was on a very small plane. My dad would call it a “puddle jumper.”
As I was waiting for the plane to take off, I had the opportunity to observe our solo flight attendant getting ready for the flight as well as her operation procedures during the flight. It was truly artistic to watch!
I know, you are probably thinking, how can watching a flight attendant be artistic?
But let me back up a minute. I know that talking about airlines and efficiency can sometimes be an oxymoron! In fact, at 7:50 am we were notified the crew was going to be late for our 8:00 am takeoff because they were still asleep at the hotel! (Side note: I'd much rather have my crew well rested every time, thank you. No one missed their connecting flights and all was well.) That is not what I'm talking about in this post.
The art I observed was in the way that the airline planned every detail of the flight. The art was in the creative use of space that the airplane designers designed. Almost every minute of that flight she was in one compartment or another getting out the tools to do her work.
She never hesitated — not once. She knew where everything was. Each compartment, no matter how tiny, had a purpose.
I watched her get things out and put things away — all with a flow of confidence. The person before her had put things in the same spot and she picked up where they left off. As she finished with items, she would carefully put them back into the same location. I'm sure that the person that followed her appreciated that.
She wasn't mechanical. Her personality was pleasant and friendly and she delivered her services with kindness and great customer service.
While she knew exactly what to do, she was able to make judgment calls when new variables presented themselves. She even noticed that my part of the plane was quite cold and offered me the option of moving to a warmer seat.
Her role had very specific steps to carry out and she did them very well.
That got me thinking about small businesses. Maybe your business. . .
Do the people in your business, you or your staff, have that kind of confidence and flow? What steps can you put in place today to move you in that direction?
Until we talk again,
Live Fully — Love Openly — Laugh Often — Leverage Your Brilliance — Connect Authentically — Get Your Message Out — Serve with Impact — Prosper Everyday
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