Lessons from the Coffee House

As a rule of thumb, people are generally a bit shy about advertising their skill sets. Certainly, there are those folks that talk about themselves nonstop and drive us all crazy, but for the most part, as individuals we are self-conscious of appearing self-absorbed and arrogant. And that’s generally a good thing — humility and humbleness are qualities we all seek in those we form relationships with and otherwise engage with. With businesses, however, it’s different.

As a store owner, you wouldn’t let a person take something off your shelf and walk out the door without paying for it. Anyone witnessing such an incident would consider this a theft, and if such an event were to occur and a police report filed, the business owner might be able to recoup some of the loss, either from insurance or as a deduction on taxes.

So many times as we progress in our chosen profession and become more knowledgeable in our field, we pick up words and phrases that are specific to our industry.

Saying things like, “That’s not my job,” when a manager, supervisor or coworker requests help on tasks and projects, should be a guaranteed route to the unemployment line.

I see this a lot — businesses that hire a coach or other third party to come in and “fix things.” They meet with these experts for a few months, their process is analyzed, their day-to-day flow critiqued and, at the end, the coach gives feedback and suggestions for improvement — areas that could flow better, ways to be more profitable, things that could be cut altogether. They are also shown the possibilities that exist if they can learn to manage the process and how it directly affects the bottom line.

Leave it at the door. We’ve all heard, and possibly even said, that before. We don’t need your drama, family problems or political opinions here at work. We don’t want to care about you as a human being. We just want you to show up on time and do your job. Don’t think. Just do what is required of you.