Slow Down

The Epiphany by Me

Have you ever driven down a highway and then, all of a sudden, you find yourself doing 65 MPH in a 45 MPH work zone? You’ve missed the more than fifty orange warning signs and for some reason were totally oblivious to the flashing yellow lights and large orange barrels.  If not, good for you –  if so, then don’t feel bad. It happens to just about all of us and just the other day in happened to me but this time I actually learned something from the experience. (And it didn’t take getting a ticket to do so.)

As I sped through the work zone it occurred to me that what was happening on the road may also be happening in our daily lives, either at work, at home or both.  We’re speeding through days, weeks, months and our lives without slowing down or paying attention to our warning signs.

Our drive to provide, to succeed, to meet the demands of what is expected of us from others and to meet our own expectations is forcing us to feel as if we can never slow down.  We’re working longer hours, trying harder to exceed our personal and professional goals and in between trying to make sure our responsibilities to ourselves and families are met.  In addition, the added stress of a recession-induced environment has everyone trying to make sense of constantly a changing marketplace.  These factors may be contributing to a “move fast or die” attitude but it may be doing more harm than good and it may be time to think differently.

For the first time ever once I saw the “Slow Down” sign I actually did it.  I didn’t contemplate how long it would take me to get out of the work zone, whether or not there was a police officer in sight, or the insane rational behind the thinking that since there were no workers it was o.k. to continue to do 65 mph. This time I pulled my foot off the gas, dropped back in my seat, and enjoyed the ride. It was a refreshing break and one that I didn’t even know I needed, that’s the scary part. (and perhaps that was the biggest lesson of all) We get so caught up  in what seems most important at any given second that we forget how to keep things in perspective, we forget how to slow down and that isn’t good.

If we don’t take time to slow down then we’re headed for trouble.  Imagine those early “Road Work Ahead” signs, flashing lights and big barrels as projects, deadlines, or even our health. If we keep missing them because we’ve convinced ourselves that moving faster is what it takes, or ignoring them because they are not a priority “RIGHT NOW” then all of a sudden we”ll find ourselves in a work zone where moving fast becomes prohibitive and costly. Those small projects become missed opportunities, missed deadlines become big problems, and is there really any need to go into what happens when we ignore our health.

It’s important to slow down, to prioritize, to think of others (like those workers on the side of the road), and maybe even to find value in the slow lane.  After all, there are opportunities there too.

Make Them Look Up

The Promise Land

Over the holidays I became a fan of Wegmans Food Markets, a growing supermarket chain that sat atop the 2005 Fortune 100 “Best Companies to Work for List.”  If you’ve ever been to one then you know it has outstanding food at reasonable prices and the in-house market makes you think you’re somewhere other than heading for the baked goods aisle.

As if this weren’t enough the customer service is what some consider to be the best in the industry, and perhaps one of the best in the entire service industry.  Much has been written about the “employees first, customers second” philosophy Wegmans adopted, an approach shared by the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, and Marriott, to name a few.  However, what struck me most wasn’t the free ham being doled out by the charismatic butcher (who happened to keep my daughter and I entertained for over 15 minutes), or the cheese guy with the cool accent who led me to the “brie” promise land. It was the train.

Above the heads and perhaps missed by some was a train that ran inconspicuously throughout a part of the store. I’m not even sure I would have seen it had it had not been spotted by my keen-eyed four year old. Yet when I saw it I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.  Each aisle I turned down I checked to see where it was, whether or not it was still moving, and how far it had progressed since the last spotting.  It was pleasant, fun, memorable, and brought me to another time and place although I could never pinpoint when. It was a perfect compliment to an enjoyable experience during one of the busiest shopping days of the year. So why is this the train so important and why should an organization, a non-profit entity or a for-profit company care?

The Train by Jennifer Nicholson

The train represents a pleasant escape for the customer, the unexpected and added element to whatever experience an organization is trying to deliver.  It is the intangible little thing that may not make immediate sense, or speak directly to a mission or vision, but it manages to breathe a little life into an engagement and perhaps makes an incredible difference in an experience.

For Non-Profits
During last month’s ASAE Technology Conference there was a session on how organizations should consider using online games to increase membership for their organizations.  Generally I agree with this and think perhaps there’s a real opportunity for games (or other things) to change the experience for members. It certainly can’t hurt for organizations to continue to think differently. However, what can’t be missed by nonprofits and for-profits alike are the other elements that also make Wegmans great: its commitment to its employees, to its customers, to quality product and to reasonable prices.  I also think there’s an opportunity here for organizations to over analyze and ultimate kill the idea of using games to engage (not necessarily recruit) members, especially if they think too much about the outcome and not enough about the value of  what I call temporary escape.

For Companies
It’s time for every company to continue to add elements to the experience it delivers to its customer base.  Consumers are faced with so many choices and options that it may just be the companies that concentrate most on providing an escape to their own experience that outlast the rest. By fine tuning the fundamentals (mentioned above) and figuring out how to make them look up, the experience will become unforgettable.