Most of us acknowledge that when we’re performing our jobs, we are working.

But what many employees don’t often consider is that their jobs are made up of both mandatory actions that fulfill job functions (i.e., the bullet points on a job description) as well as optional behaviors that fulfill job essence—their highest priority (which, for most service-based businesses, is creating delighted customers).

Did this really just happen? People, when you are paid to speak to your customers on the phone, please don’t take total leave of your senses and treat us with complete lack of common courtesy.  I think I may have just found a prospective new client in need of some training to improve their customer service telephone skills.

If things have and are going great for you, personally and professionally, read no further. If not, read on, this post is for you.

Pause

When things aren’t going as they should – life’s not treating you well, business is lacking, and you’re underperforming against your best hopes and expectations – you need to pause. We wish we could stop, but it’s impossible, time and life marches on. A pause is where you reflect on what you’re doing, what’s going wrong, and where alternatives could have been taken. It’s the act of reflecting on the path you’ve taken and analysis on why things aren’t working as they should.

I love new years and new seasons. Even just a new day usually gets me pretty excited.

Even so, I’m a little overwhelmed with how to achieve all the wonderful things I want to achieve this year. I’m also overwhelmed at the volume of self-help information intended to help me set goals and get motivated. So I’m going to keep this simple this week, but I do hope this single spark helps you as much as it is helping me think differently about this new year.

I’m a big fan of Compendium, Inc. They produce the coolest inspirational and motivational books on the planet. We give them away as thank you gifts and always have some laying around sparkspace. You may have also seen them at Starbucks. Last year, Starbucks carried the Five book, which helps you think about what you want to do with the next five years of your life.

How do you look at work right now? Are you in TGIF mode? You know, living for the weekend so you don’t have to work or think for a day or two?

Every Friday, I see hundreds of TGIF proclamations on Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the ones I actually hear people utter in person. Sometimes these expressions begin to appear much earlier in the week. Comments like “I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday” or “Only 4 more days ’til the weekend” are surprisingly common.

I work best when I have a clear goal that’s slightly aspirational. Last year, I ran the Columbus half-marathon. I set a goal to get my body to run (term used loosely) 13.1 miles. I’d never run more than 6 miles at one time before, and that was in high school.

“Oh-crap-oh-crap-oh-crap!”

Those were the exact words that burst out of my mouth as the 7-foot high rolling shelf came crashing down just outside the kitchen door at Sparkspace. Apparently, as I was moving the shelf, one of the four casters on the shelf had decided to fail, and fail spectacularly.

As you can see, this monumental structural collapse also involved about fifty cases of soda cans. A surprising number of cans exploded on impact, others died a slower, spraying-all-over-the-place kind of death.

There are some employees who manage to withstand all kinds of criticism and negativity from management and find ways to brush it off and excel at work. Other employees, despite a supportive management team, fail to be productive.

I believe that people who work in an environment where doing their best is recognized have a better chance of feeling good about their work. They also have a better chance of becoming successful producers who enjoy pleasing customers.

It’s not always easy to keep a good attitude and a smiling face when we’re helping our customers.  We all have many stressors that can get in the way of staying positive and friendly. It’s especially hard when customers are rude, inconsiderate or just plain ornery.

Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to behave one way when we feel another. Acting upbeat when you’re feeling beat down is never easy. If I’m in  a bad mood it’s natural to let that show through my actions.

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

Know your purpose

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

I heard a segment on our local radio recently about more soldiers getting deployed overseas.  They interviewed parents and spouses and soldiers themselves. These situations are always hard but when they happen around the holidays they’re even more difficult.

One soldier captured the situation well.

“Anything that we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job…Life is for service.”

-Fred Rogers