CEO Coaching: The Small Things
I recently camped in Rocky Mountain National Park to hike and fish. It’s only a few hours from home, but it’s a different world!
My daughter came along for a few days, and we took a short hike the afternoon we arrived. Chugging uphill at 10,000 feet in 80-degree heat, my daughter stopped abruptly to investigate some strange mushrooms. She finds beauty in most anything; I’m still learning. We spent the rest of the hike looking for “small things,” and it created a different experience.
The next day, I fished the headwaters of the Colorado River in a peaceful moraine area, scrubbed by a glacier a few millennia ago. The fish, exclusively brook trout, were small but plentiful and beautiful. Every bend in that river was a different experience.
I often get wrapped up in the “big things” and forget to observe and appreciate the small things. Perhaps you do too. Most executives are rightfully focused on the big questions and the major levers they can pull to positively influence their business. It’s arguably their best use of time.
Sometimes, however, it’s good to notice the small stuff. An individual customer complaint or compliment rather than a trend line. A thoughtful question from a team member rather than a major project. The way a salesperson makes customers laugh and smile rather than whether they exceeded their quarterly quota.
When I was an executive at Kinko’s years ago, our founder, Paul Orfalea, chewed me out. He routinely scoured the mail room to see who was sending FedEx packages when regular mail would’ve worked. I was his target that day, and it was unpleasant. It was a “small thing,” but his point was a big one: Don’t waste money. (Ironic that FedEx eventually bought Kinko’s!)
I prefer to focus on positive things. I challenge you to take a day next week and notice 10-12 small positive things. If it brings a compliment from you, all the better. If it sparks gratitude, that’s also great. Put it on your calendar now.
I’m drinking a cappuccino at my favorite coffee shop as I write this. Perfectly dry. It’s a small thing, but it makes me smile.
coaches CEOs to higher levels of success. He is a former CEO and has led teams as large as 7,000 people. Todd is the author of, Never Kick a Cow Chip On A Hot Day: Real Lessons for Real CEOs and Those Who Want To Be (Morgan James Publishing).
Connect with Todd on LinkedIn, Twitter, call 303-527-0417 or email [email protected].
