Blog Category: Service
Service Is Being of Use
In “The Cider House Rules,” Dr. Larch tells Homer over and over again, “You must be of use.” Service is a primary way of being “of use.”
We live in busy and hectic times where being of charitable service has often taken a back seat to working and making money. Service to others in the form of volunteer work is a very specific way of being of use.
Giving of one’s time in service to others is enormously fulfilling in ways that simply writing checks to charity is not. Volunteering as a worker, a board member, a teacher, a fund raiser . . . . . just the beginnings of a long list of possibilities.
I had a wonderful friend who read to children weekly at the local library until she was 93. Renola passed away at 95, and I love her example of simple, loving, humble and joyful service.
Who has had an effect on you with their example of service? How have they impacted your desire to be of use? Are there any service opportunities in which you would like to participate over the balance of this year?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
The Servant Leader
A typical org chart shows the leader at the top of a pyramid with various levels of reporting arranged in a power hierarchy.
Another way to view an organization is the concept of the SERVANT-LEADER. Imagine the typical view turned upside-down. The leader is at the bottom of the pyramid and “reports” to the “people” above her or him.
This view illustrates the idea that the leader “works for” or “serves” those within her or his sphere. Imagine the kind of stewardship that such a view could promote. Far fewer business and political scandals . . . and, on a personal level, far more functional companies, happier families and vibrant communities.
How practical does “servant leader” feel to you? Have you ever experienced it?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Three Indicators of Great Service
Thinking ahead may well be at the heart of service. Do you remember being in a great restaurant and the wait staff always stayed just ahead of what you needed? A pleasure to dine there; right?
Yes, unless the service is obtrusive and fussy. Excellent service is both forward-thinking and unobtrusive. Some restaurants think that an overly high ratio of wait staff to diners is optimal. I disagree because the experience often shifts to be about the staff and not about the pleasure of the diners.
A third element of great service is that it is performed with joy and caring. I recently asked a service professional if he enjoyed his job, and he said, “Not really, but it’s a skill I have, so I have to use it.” He did not realize that “skill” alone is insufficient.
Of these three elements – thinking ahead, unobtrusiveness and performed with joyful and genuine caring – how would you score yourself? Can you think of an experience where you would rate the service high based on these criteria?
What are the implications of these criteria for your own business or profession? Do you sincerely care when you are delivering a service? How often are you able to serve with joy?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Legendary – Perhaps “Saintly” – Service
Our topic this week is service, and today happens to be St. Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick was credited with bringing the Christian faith to Ireland . . . as well as with banishing snakes from Ireland and using the shamrock to teach the Holy Trinity.
Service can be legendary. Sometimes, it can even get you canonized! Can you think of service experiences that you would consider legendary?
What are the elements of legendary service? Is it able to be delivered consistently? Have you and / or anything you’ve been involved with ever delivered legendary service? What was your motivation? How did you do it? How able were you to continue it?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Service Is Not Slavery
My friend, Peter, a 30-year veteran of leading high-end travel tours, once told me that his favorite country is India . . . “Because it’s the only place in the world where people will come up to you and say, ‘Please, sir, may I give you a service?’ It’s part of their culture. Nowhere else in the world is like that.”
I have recounted Peter’s story often while working with companies to teach them the art of service. The word “service” derives from the Latin “servus” or “slave.” The word has evolved to mean “work done by one person for the benefit of another.”
We live in a service economy, yet how closely do we identify with the goal of our work’s being for the benefit of another?
How can we improve our attitude of service? Do our employees and vendors exhibit the optimal level of service? Service is not slavery . . . but do we sometimes see it as if it were?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.