I had an interesting experience this past weekend. No, it was not the #5 University of Texas Longhorns versus the #1 Oklahoma University Sooners football game in Dallas, Texas. Yes, we attended the game. Yes, Texas won 45 to 35. Yes, it was a great game with Texas now being rated #1 in the country (not sure for how long). No, it was the next day.
We decided to go to Six Flags over Texas, this is an amusement park, with lots of rids and roller coasters. As we were buying tickets, we had lots of options to optimize the cost with the number of people and since it is towards the end of the season, there were some additional options. Anyway, we figured out (through solid mathematical assessment routines) that if we bought three late year season passes, that we would get a free additional day pass for each season pass. We had a total of five people in our party. If you do the math, we had a free day pass that would not go used. So, what would you do? Save for another day, just keep it, give it away . . .
I decided to give it to the family behind us in line. You would have thought they won the lottery, they were so thankful. I try to explain to them that we got that one pass . . . free and it was no big deal. However, the mother of the family was just so thankful (I think we may be part of their extended family now).
It just shows you that what you may feel is of no value (or free) could be of substantial value to someone else. As this relates to this blog, there are little things that leaders can do (that might be "cheap" or "free", like a compliment when someone does a good job) but is seen as a tremendous value to a staff member. I am not saying that I am a super charitable person as I probably don't give enough as I should, but the feeling I got after we went on our way in the amusement part was a super feeling (and made my day). So, I got more, then I actually gave, which I think is a good thing and reminded me that to give, is to receive!
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2 comments:
Great story! It does feel good when someone thanks you for the deed. Funny, one day I pointed out to a leader that a team was feeling unappreciated as no thanks was given for a deliverable. The leader said, "why should I thank them to do the job they are paid to do?" It struck me as very odd and I've lost a little bit of respect for that person. They are two small words that take so little effort. Those words reap such benefit. They are a gift that costs nothing. Maybe my culture is different from that leader's. But in this global environment, we need to be aware and all cultures appreciate thank you's.
It's always better to "give" than to receive ;-)
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