Mark Sanborn, author of You Don't Need a Title To Be A Leader, tells this very great story:
The $1,500 Beverage
I was famished. I had fasted for a medical procedure that was scheduled for early morning; in addition to being hungry, I was dying for my morning jump start of caffeine. Fortunately, there was a Starbucks located just around the corner from the hospital, so I picked up a cappuccino to go.
There was a popular deli nearby. I knew from previous experience that the food was good, so I parked and went inside with my just-started Starbucks cappuccino. "One for breakfast," I said to the hostess.
Seeing my Starbucks cup, she rather sternly replied, "We don't allow outside food or beverages in the restaurant. You'll either have to down it or leave it at the counter."
I wasn't about to discard my three-dollar cappuccino, so I decided to take my coffee and money elsewhere.
Her curt challenge to my not-purchased-there coffee felt like a personal rebuke. I could empathize with a business owner who wanted to sell his or her own coffee, but I had already purchased mine elsewhere. I was more than willing to spend $10 for breakfast, but the restaurant, by requiring that I dispense of my recently purchased Starbucks cappuccino, ended up with nothing and lost me permanently as a customer.
Upset at how I was treated, I called my brother Shawn, who is a successful restaurant owner and operator. After explaining the scenario, I asked for his opinion on what had happened. He saw an easy solution:
"She should have said, 'We don't allow outside food or beverages, so let me pour your drink into one of our cups after I seat you.' No competitor's coffee cup would be on the table, you would keep your beverage, and they would get to keep the money you spent on breakfast.'
Why didn't she think about that? Because she was blindly enforcing the restaurant's policy without much regard for the effect it had on its customers. By not choosing to lead or influence the situation positively so that we both could win, she influenced negatively and lost a customer.
These principles apply beautifully to our libraries, n'est-ce que pas?
The $1,500 Beverage
I was famished. I had fasted for a medical procedure that was scheduled for early morning; in addition to being hungry, I was dying for my morning jump start of caffeine. Fortunately, there was a Starbucks located just around the corner from the hospital, so I picked up a cappuccino to go.
There was a popular deli nearby. I knew from previous experience that the food was good, so I parked and went inside with my just-started Starbucks cappuccino. "One for breakfast," I said to the hostess.
Seeing my Starbucks cup, she rather sternly replied, "We don't allow outside food or beverages in the restaurant. You'll either have to down it or leave it at the counter."
I wasn't about to discard my three-dollar cappuccino, so I decided to take my coffee and money elsewhere.
Her curt challenge to my not-purchased-there coffee felt like a personal rebuke. I could empathize with a business owner who wanted to sell his or her own coffee, but I had already purchased mine elsewhere. I was more than willing to spend $10 for breakfast, but the restaurant, by requiring that I dispense of my recently purchased Starbucks cappuccino, ended up with nothing and lost me permanently as a customer.
Upset at how I was treated, I called my brother Shawn, who is a successful restaurant owner and operator. After explaining the scenario, I asked for his opinion on what had happened. He saw an easy solution:
"She should have said, 'We don't allow outside food or beverages, so let me pour your drink into one of our cups after I seat you.' No competitor's coffee cup would be on the table, you would keep your beverage, and they would get to keep the money you spent on breakfast.'
Why didn't she think about that? Because she was blindly enforcing the restaurant's policy without much regard for the effect it had on its customers. By not choosing to lead or influence the situation positively so that we both could win, she influenced negatively and lost a customer.
These principles apply beautifully to our libraries, n'est-ce que pas?
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