Do you walk the talk?

A few weeks ago, I said there were 50,000 janitors at Disney world. Truth is, there might be 500, but keeping the parks clean is EVERYONE’s responsibility. If you think about your own facility, and you walk past a piece of trash on the ground in the parking lot, how can you ask someone else to pick it up when they walk by it? You can’t, right? This must mean that because I pick up the trash, this is one example of how I lead by example. Perhaps, but this is not “Walking the talk”. It might be walking the walk, but that’s not todays lesson.

Walking the talk is being “aggressively friendly” to a guest (or member) in need. Remember we talked about answering the unasked questions a few weeks ago? This is “walking the talk”. This is more than doing your job (helping members), it’s HOW you do your job. It’s about helping your guests (members) enjoy their visit to the fullest extent possible.

Instead of waiting to see if one of those potential opportunities to be “aggressively friendly” falls into your lap, seek the opportunity to make one of those moments magical. If the culture at your facility says “help the guest”, it means everyone. Not just the Head Professional or the GM. EVERYONE. If you’re Head Professional and you have staff who don’t do this – start making a job posting. You need new team members who get it. If you’re at a facility where this isn’t the culture, get on a chair and start stomping your feet to make change because your guests want this. The stature of your facility is irrelevant.

Every time a guest comes into contact with your facility, the facility has a chance to create value. If YOU come into contact with that guest, YOU have the opportunity to create that value. Capitalize on that opportunity and you win. Waste it and you lose. It’s as simple as that.

Now ask yourself the question again. Do you walk the talk?

Your work, your way.

Happy Professionalism. Enjoy your work/ life balance.