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3 Practices

Practice without principle is obligation

A practice is how you deliver a product or service:The action steps, applications or procedures that you use to complete the tasks associated with your job. We have become accomplished at doing our jobs and teaching others how to do their jobs without first teaching the Why, the purpose behind it.

People are proficient at practicing their professions. Mail carriers deliver the mail. Car salespersons sell cars. Orthodontists straighten teeth. Telemarketers answer phones. Technicians fix things. Plumbers, teachers, attorneys, and scientists all have a job to do. Day after day, people clock in and clock out to meet their obligations in the practice of their professions.

Obligation: an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment. —Google Free Dictionary

When we were kids, we rarely understood why we had to do chores. When we asked, the common response from our parents was “because I said so!” Thus, because our parents “said so” became our motivation.

One of my fondest recollections of my Grandpa was his commitment to creating teaching opportunities while he and I worked together. No matter what we were doing, he took the time to explain why we were doing it. His explanations made a remarkable difference because it transformed our work from a list of meaningless tasks to a cause with a noble purpose.

Answering the “why” in regards to “what” you do is critical because it directly impacts the passion and personal drive you bring to your work. Stop looking at your job as an obligation and start answering the reason “why” you do what you do and “what” motivates you to do it. Otherwise, your ability to perform at a higher level is hindered as well as your ability to motivate others.

Practice Born of Principle is Service

Principles are the “what” in your interaction with others. They identify the values or guidelines that motivate the behaviors in your practice. These principles are fundamental truths that serve as the foundation for a system of individual or organizational beliefs. It is out of this set of principles that your practice is transformed from the mere obligation to work into a belief that your work is an opportunity for service.

Service (v): the action of helping—Google Free Dictionary

As you practice putting the Master Principles to work in every aspect of your life and every service opportunity, you become more persuasive in your communication, more secure within yourself, more open, and work better with others. And a bonus, you get more done in less time. The Pattern provides the principles you need to WOW more customers and experience more fulfillment! We are happiest when we are engaged in a cause far bigger than ourselves.

The Pattern’s eight Master Principles serve as keys to unlock the door to infinite applications or best practices of your creation. This Pattern cultivates the behaviors that you must possess to connect with your clients and consistently provide a phenomenal customer experience. It is amazing how your body will respond to a noble cause. The Pattern’s purpose is to create WOW Experiences for those you serve. A WOW Experience is the singular outcome you should look to achieve in every customer interaction.

Example of High-Performance Practices

Texas Roadhouse has a fun ambiance, a ton of food for a decent price, and amazing steaks; they also have free peanuts! After a visit to one of their restaurants, I learned to appreciate Texas Roadhouse even more, and my increased appreciation had nothing to do with their food—it came about because of the busboys.

On a date night, my wife and I arrived at Texas Roadhouse and sat down after briefly waiting for a table. While we ate, the servers performed a couple of line dances that, while not my thing, were entertaining to watch. After one of the dances, I heard a clatter and looked to see what had happened. I couldn’t help but get distracted from what my wife was saying because I had to turn around to see the commotion. I only caught a glimpse of a white rag heading back to the kitchen.

Thinking the busboys had just performed a short show, I waited for them to emerge from the kitchen. A short time later, two boys approached the table next to my wife and I. With amazing speed and dexterity, they whisked all the cutlery, flatware, plates, glasses, and garbage into their large plastic tubs and wiped down the table with their white rags—all in less than 15 seconds.

Their cleaning skills were impressive, but what happened next made me a lifetime customer. One of the boys wiped the table with a large circle, stuffed his rag into his apron pocket, and then kissed his hand and slapped it on the corner of the table with that odd sense of wild reverence teenagers are so adept at conveying.

He smiled, spread his arms, took a little bow, and disappeared into the kitchen’s steamy confines. No one clapped, no one said anything to him, and certainly, no one tipped him for his performance. But that’s what it was—a performance.

I’ve since thought a lot about how a busboy turned an enjoyable night into an unforgettable learning experience. What made him put on such a performance? Why not just clean the table and retreat into the kitchen like most busboys?

Because he chose to be different. For most busboys cleaning tables is a job; an obligation they have to complete to receive their paycheck. The performance of this busboy was an act of service. Somewhere he learned that what he was doing—his practice—was of worth, and he took great pride in it.

Practice to Create a New Path

Imagine that you had to walk to and from work every day. One day, on your way to work, you see a shortcut through a field that shaves 15 minutes off and you decide to take it.

On the way home, you take the same path through the field and save time getting home. For the first couple of trips, you may have a hard time following the new path. But after 15 to 20 trips, you see a clearly defined path. After several weeks of walking to and from work using the same path, you can easily follow a well-defined route through the field, even in the dark.

Now, assume you meet the field’s owner at the end of one of your walks. He looks back over your path with mild distaste but doesn’t forbid you from walking it. What are the chances you’ll take a different path the next day? My guess is slim to none. You now know this path, and you’re comfortable with it. In fact, unless the owner specifically asks you not to walk the path, you’ll probably continue without thinking. Your path has become a habit—part of your behavioral memory that you use with very little brainpower.

Imagine that one day you discover another path that will get you to work faster and more efficiently than the previous one. You try it and find that it works, but habit always pushes you to your previous path. Despite the old habit, you force yourself to continue to use this new path. The owner of the field is pleased that you’ve made this course correction. Although the field owner felt there had to be a better way, he didn’t have the time or wasn’t sure how to help you figure it out. Over time, you notice that the old path through the field has grown back and that the new path has become your new habit.

This story illustrates how you form similar paths in your brain and body. When you have a thought or an action that you repeat over time, it becomes your habit, forged into your memory, mind, and muscle. As you learn new things, you’re faced with a choice to continue in the old habit or push forward to forge new paths.

Practice makes perfect. When you practice something over and over, you create paths in your brain. When you repeat certain thoughts and behaviors often enough, a strong connection, also known as a neural pathway, is created. Every time you think in a certain way, practice a particular task, or feel a specific emotion, you strengthen the path. It then becomes easier for your brain to travel this pathway.¹ When it comes time to perform what you’ve practiced, it’s a habit; you don’t think about it—you just do it.

The great philosopher Aristotle figured this out over 2,000 years ago; he said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Being excellent at creating WOW Experiences when serving others is the same. When regularly practiced, it becomes a habit. Just like it took effort to forge the new path on your way to work, it will take effort to change your thinking pattern to create value for your clients consistently.

As you study each Master Principle, think about different situations that you experience. Whether you’re at work or home, practice using them with your clients, co-workers and family members. Remember to write down what you know to be true about these principles as well as personal experiences that relate to what you are learning. Also, write an action plan that will help you turn each principle into a habit. I promise, if you write what you are learning in a journal, the time you dedicate to reading this book will become a transformational learning experience, not just another good read. Your communication skills and your responses to others will become WOW habits, and you’ll undoubtedly WOW more customers.