A Blog in Review

Everytime I visit a restaurant here, I am often disappointed by the service afforded.  It is rather disgraceful to note that even the supposedly better restaurants have such poor standards.  One of the few places that has managed to catch my attention, however, is Starbucks.  Yes, the coffee is expensive and I have to stand in line and pick up my own drinks, but the people are great.  Side by side against Coffee Bean, Starbucks wins hands down not only for taste but service as well.

For instance, I recently went to the Starbucks at The Alpha Angle to buy a couple of drinks.  It had been probably about a month since I last went there but what surprised me was that they remembered me - or rather they remembered my son.  One of them remarked, “Oh!  He’s finally awake!  He’s normally asleep whe you come in here.”

I thought to myself, “You remembered?  Even I can’t remember whether he was asleep or awake when I last walked in here.”  It was just a small thing, but it made my day a lot brighter to be served by such friendly staff.

After reading the following message from Mac Anderson, I think I finally understand what the difference is between Starbucks and Coffee Bean.

“You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School“
by Mac Anderson

A few years ago I had lunch with a top executive from a company known for their legendary retail service. My wife and I are both big fans, and over lunch I shared with him some of the great service stories his people had provided the Anderson family. I said, “With the service your people give…you must have a training manual 2 inches thick.”

He looked up and said, “Mac, we don’t have a training manual. What we do is find the best people we can find and we empower them to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer.”

Then he said something I’ll never forget. He said, “We learned a long time ago that you can’t send a duck to eagle school.” “Excuse me,” I said. He repeated… “You can’t send a duck to eagle school.” He said, “You can’t teach someone to smile, you can’t teach someone to want to serve, you can’t teach personality. What we can do, however, is hire people who have those qualities and we can then teach them about our products and teach them our culture.”

As long as I live I will never forget this simple analogy about hiring people. It is branded on my brain forever. And since that day, with every hiring decision I’ve made, I find myself asking the question: “Am I hiring a duck thinking they will become an eagle?” I can also honestly say that asking this simple question has saved me from making some important hiring mistakes. I just wish I’d heard it 20 years sooner.

The “Duck to Eagle School” lesson is one of many “simple truths” of leadership that I’ve learned on my journey as an entrepreneur. In the past 30 years, I’ve had the good fortune to be involved with three successful start up companies, each becoming a leader in its niche. And, as you can imagine, there have been many peaks, valleys and “lessons learned” along the way.

I’ve also been very fortunate to have met a lot of people who are a lot smarter than I. Successful entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, educators, coaches, and CEO’s of large companies, have all helped shape my thinking. It has been their wisdom and their knowledge, combined with my own life experiences, that have helped shape who I am today.

My goal with this little book is to share some of my “lessons learned” in a brief, but engaging way. Because so many times, it’s not what is said, but how it is said, that turns the switch from off to on. For me, one of the most exciting things about business and life, is that one great idea can change our life forever.

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