SECOND CHANCE

“You don’t have a second chance to make a first impression” goes a popular saying. It emphasizes the importance of the first impression. One must always put his best foot forward. But sometimes you put your best forward and then slip…

Will that be acceptable? Of course it is not. An impression is an impression and even what you may consider as being your best may be not so good.
Wh...

at do you do when your first impression goes bad? Sulk? Put up a “i-couldn’t- care-less” attitude? Blame everyone and everything else? Or come back with a second impression that condemns the first to the dust bin of memory?

During the momentous swearing in ceremony of President Obama in 2009, nearly all hotel rooms in Washington were booked by tourists and government functionaries, both local and international. A couple had booked for a hotel room long before the mad rush for rooms in the city. It was just coincidental that their scheduled visit now clashed with such an important event.

When they arrived at the hotel, they were carelessly informed at the reception that their earlier confirmed room could not be given to them. They were furious. “We have paid, and confirmed this booking over a month ago, what could possibly be the problem”

Obviously, “important” guests have taken over the place. This information just added to the anger and frustration of the couple. How on earth were they supposed to get another room given the peculiarity of that day? They insisted on seeing the management. This was the first impression. It was a really bad impression and they were going to let whoever get a piece of their minds.

The manager took it upon himself to secure a room in a not-so popular hotel for the couple and arranged for them to be chauffeur-driven throughout their stay at his hotel’s expense. That was a pleasant surprise; a much better bargain than staying at the hotel of their first choice.

But the best experience came in the evening when the couple received a call from the manager politely inviting them to the spectacular Neighbourhood Inauguration Ball (where the new President and his wife were going to make their first showing)if they didn’t mind. Now tell me, who in the world would mind that opportunity?

The couple became a part of history because one hotel’s best foot forward slipped. Now seriously, which impression do you think will last longer - the failed room booking or the excellent service recovery that followed? They will certainly pray for a failed booking the next time they visit Washington!

When customers get upset because of the challenges of the migration project experienced last week, we must respond with a superlative service delivery that erases that memory and give them even better reasons to remain on our platform and invite others to experience our warmth and professionalism.

It is true. There is no second chance to make a first impression. But it is also true that every chance is a great opportunity to make a better impression than the last one.

It matters what impressions you first create but much more important is the eventual image you leave.

FINISHING WELL

Mexico, 1968 Olympics

“Out of the cold darkness he came. John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania entered at the far end of the stadium, hobbling painfully with every step, his leg bloody and bandaged. The winner of the marathon had been declared over an hour earlier. Only a few spectators remained. But the lone runner pressed on…”

It is not enough to start a race, you must be able to finish it and finish it well.

The world hardly remembers people who start but never finish. We all remember the Wright Brothers (1903) for their “invention” of the airplane yet they where only building up on works that commenced as early as 900 AD. In fact just a couple of years before their historic break, a university professor of mathematics, Dr. Samuel P. Langley, had received some grant from the US War Department for his research and development of a viable manned airplane. On October 8, 1903, after six years of intense research, Langley gathered the press and notables for the historic moment. The experiment failed. The press condemnation was unparalleled.  He fought back gallantly and eight weeks later he tried again with an even more catastrophic result. He started well, but it was the Wright brothers, unfunded, uneducated and unknown that finished well a few days after his second attempt. They are the ones the world remembers.

Alexander Graham Bell, credited with the invention of the telephone, won the patent right because he filed just a few hours earlier than his competitor Elisha Gray who in all likelihood made the invention based on more recent revelations.  Gray started well, Graham finished better…

All through history we see this scenario played outcx  It is good to start but infinitely better to finish. The first cut may be the deepest, but the last cut is what finishes the job. The prize is not for starters but for finishers. You have set out with a goal in mind; do you actualize it or do you allow the vagaries of the day take their toll and cause you to deviate? The thought that creeps into your mind is the start of many great eventualities; do you see yours to a logical conclusion?

“…as the Tanzanian athlete limped round the field to cross the finishing line, the small crowd of spectators gave him a standing ovation, roaring their appreciation. Afterward, a reporter asked the runner why he had not retired from the race, since he had no chance of winning. He seemed confused by the question. Finally, he answered: “My country did not send me to Mexico to start the race, they sent me to finish.”

In spite of all the challenges we face in Process, Product, People, Technology, power, etc  always keep this in mind: you were not created/employed to see the problem, but to solve it. The fact that you are seeing it means you have started the process. Can you finish it?

THE RIGHT TO FAIL

Please read to the end before you delete.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has 30 articles dealing with every right you can think of except the one we all need most. Article 1 declares that we are all born free and equal. But everyone knows that is just on the paper. No one is free and we are not equal. Article 4 deals expressly with the issue of slavery. “No one shall be a slave…” It’s an ideal that we should all push towards. But do you know there will always be slaves?
So what is the right that we most need that is not provided for in the Declaration?
Every human being has an inherent and inalienable right to fail.
Drop the pretence. Who hasn’t failed before? Why do we treat failure with such contempt as if it was illegal to fail? Funny enough the greatest victories often come from the biggest failures.
Zane Grey became a dentist and hated it. He wrote several novels. They failed. He wrote a western novel, “The Last of the Plainsmen”. That too was rejected. He was told he had no future as a writer and to give it up. He persisted and was 40 before his first book sold. He had 65 books published while he was alive—24 after he died. His books sold more than 50 million copies. Forty-nine of his novels were made into movies. One million of his books still sell every year. He exercised his right to fail.
Decca Recording Company turned down The Beatles in 1962. They said, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitarists are on the way out." After that rejection, The Beatles became the best-selling band in the history of popular music, and four decades after their break-up, their recordings are still in demand. They have had more number one albums on the UK charts and have held the top spot longer than any other musical act. They have received 7 Grammy Awards from the American National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. They exercised their right to be called failures.
Van Gogh sold only one painting in his entire lifetime and that one was of his own brother! The price of that painting was a meager $1600. Today, seven of his works are amongst the most expensive artworks ever bought  totaling about $670 million! In his lifetime he was seen as a failure (it drove him to commit suicide) but imagine the worth of his work after death! Success looks like failure when its time has not come!
Richard Hooker spent 17 years writing a humorous war story which was rejected by 21 publishers before William Morrow bought it. The title of the book? MASH! Ultimately, however, the book proved amazingly successful. The novel inspired an Academy Award-winning film released in 1970 and a widely popular television series that lasted eleven seasons! He too exercised his right to fail.
Walt Disney went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown before becoming successful.  Certainly you have heard of Abraham Lincoln and how he was defeated in several elections  before he could become the President of America. And what a successful president he was! 

What of Thomas Edison (with his legendary failure in the quest for a workable electric bulb) or Winston Churchill (Britain’s wartime leader) who struggled in school with spelling or Albert Einstein (the popular scientist) whose teachers felt could not amount to much, or  Ben Carson (the world’s most celebrated neuro-surgeon) whose teacher once described as the dumbest student in the world? You are in good company if you have failed.

Exercise your right! Refuse to be intimidated by people or circumstances. Refuse to give up just because someone believes you are a failure. Just because your projections didn’t quite materialize does not make you a failure. But don’t just fail blindly. Pick something up with each failure. Keep your eyes open. Call it purposeful failure.

Success dwells on the far side of failure, not on the opposite side. If you really want to succeed that badly, then know that you will have to walk through what a lot of people call failure boulevard. If you don’t stop, if you keep your focus, and exercise your basic human right to fail – then you will wake up one morning to the beautiful music of success. This is as true for corporate organizations as it is for individuals. And today could be that day for all you know.
Until next week, stay true to yourself and your customers and remember, great service happens in the moment, moment by moment.

SAVING CULTURE

Have you considered the benefts you can enjoy from building
a savings culture today? Research suggests that:

People who save do not run out of money in an emergency
People who save can help their children further their education
People who save have a nest of golden eggs to see them through their retirement years

Many of us aspire to achieve some or all of these states of fnancial security but starting off does need a bit of encouragement. Well, to start you off, here are a few tips on saving money:

Give yourself a reason to save as it is easier to save with a goal in mind
Know where you stand today with your income and your
recurring expenditure
Make a commitment to put away a fxed amount of money
each month – this can be from foregoing non-essential recurring
expenditure or reducing how much you spend on non-essential items
Choose a place to help your money grow
Keep track of your savings and see your money grow month after month.