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1 Simple Action to Boost Your HIGH Payoff Life

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Published: 05Aug2008
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Who knew I'd get a lesson for creating successful teams and productive organizations in a Paris Metro station?

I got it loud and clear, and I'd hate to keep it to myself when it could change your life in High Payoff ways!

I grew up in Switzerland. I've been back to Europe several times since graduating college in the USA. As I planned this trip with my niece, I thought about what she might enjoy doing. I wanted to uncover great haunts to take her to on our trip. Even so, I know we each tend to walk in habitual paths on automatic. So, I started researching.

You can imagine: I spent hours... tens of hours over tens of weeks... on-line and on-cable researching and looking for ideas of where to go and what to do.

I had great conversations over business lunches about the favorite spots friends and colleagues had found in the cities I'm taking my niece to - Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Florence, Rome and more.

I became a devotee of Rick Steve's travel programs and reading his extra notes in his travel guides. One of his comments I filed away as a convenient reminder: To greet every shopkeeper in France with "Bon Jour! (Hello!)" the very moment you enter their shop, and leave with "Merci! (Thanks!)"

Seems simple, right? Well I had one heck of a reminder that the simplest actions can have enormous and lasting impact. And, when neglected, they can kill your plans and potentially your results as well.

Rushing from metro to metro today built up a real hunger. My niece and I were glancing down metro corridors as we looked for the right one to take. And the scent of fresh bread caught us and pulled us to an intersection where a pastry vendor's booth was set up.

Now, I'd spent the past four days walking in and out of hotels and shops. Not only had I been buying, but I'd also been stopping everyone everywhere to ask for directions or assistance. And I faithfully greeted every vendor, police man, concierge, stranger on the street.

This particular vendor had quite a line up and a lot of confusion going on. An assistant stepped forward to pick up the slack and I blurted out "3 croissants, please!"

The glare I got could have frozen hot espresso in an instant.

"Bon Jour."

She said it to me frigidly as she reached for the bag to put them in.

I haven't felt that reprimanded in decades. Around me everyone was hello-ing each other. I paid. Said "Merci" and we ran for our train. But my nerves were ringing.

As the train rattled to our next station, my thoughts went back to a conversation I had with a company president I've coached over the past few years. Our discussion was about how it takes only a little effort to have the simplest human interaction with his employees and make them feel valued and appreciated.

That's one of the key responsibilities of leadership, of management, and of just plain good being-ness. And too many of my clients believe it isn't worth their time or attention.

That vendor in Paris didn't feel either acknowledged or appreciated. AND she felt completely safe letting me know that my neglect of a simple 2-word greeting had immediate impact on her and her desire to know me, to assist me, to have me anywhere in her life.

Most of your colleagues, vendors, employees, associates won't let you know when they feel the same way she did. They won't signal you directly that you aren't using the simplest of courtesies. And they may be polite, they may be professional and they may deliver on their commitments. But they aren't giving you everything they could because they don't feel appreciated. In fact, they would rather put that final 10% of their time, intelligence and energy in somewhere else. They're likely doing just that!

So I'll be making a point of bringing back the simple courtesy of greeting people. What simple behavior is it time for you to build in as you conduct yourself and your business?

Management expert, consultant, and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High payoff Catalyst." Linda publishes the free weekly newsletter The Spark! to subscribers world-wide and delivers targeted solutions, practical skills and simple ways to build your business. If you're ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, accelerate your results and have more fun at it, get your FREE tips like these visit her site at www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com

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