Second Mile

I enjoy a good meal from Chick-fil-a.  More than the taste of the food, I enjoy eating there because of the consistent, and superb level of service that I receive.  My order is never messed up (if it is they correct it on them), I am always greeted with a smiling face and a good attitude,  I am checked on to make sure that I am comfortable and have all that I need for a satisfactory meal experience.  I can walk into any Chick-fil-a in the country (I have been in many) and can be sure to receive this same level of service.

Chick-fil-a lives by the mantra of "second mile service", which they adopted from Matthew 5:41, "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two."  They consistently go the second mile. (read more at http://bit.ly/oJEwWv )

How often do we have the attitude of doing the bare minimum (or less)? How often have we wanted to say (or said), "your the one that needs the inspection, not me, figure it out"?

As public servants it should go without saying that we are to go the second mile and more for those we serve.  By going the second mile, we truly provide a valuable service to our community.  In these economic times, the second mile might be all it takes to create a positive image in the public's eye.

The second mile might involve doing the "unconventional" at times, or going outside of your particular "job description",  but we must always remember that our primary job title is that of public servant.  Take this challenge from Chick-fil-a and, go the second mile.  Apply this principal to your daily life, look for second mile opportunities, and see how your community will change!

Critical Questions

From the Global Leadership Summit:

5 Critical Challenge Questions for Leaders (Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church)

1. What is your current challenge level at work?

All people fall into one of the three categories above. The under challenged do not have enough interesting work to keep them engaged. They are not provided with enough work to do. The under challenged usually leave organizations for a more challenging position. The appropriately challenged usually have just the right amount of work and task to accomplish. However, they are not being stretched and are only maintaining, not creating. The dangerously over-challenged are working themselves to death, often at a high cost to themselves and those around them.


Most employees fall into the upper under challenged/lower appropriately challenged area (see yellow box). People's best work is accomplished when they are working/functioning in the lower third of the dangerously over-challenged level (see red box).



As leaders - are those who work under you being challenged enough? What can you do to bring them up (or down) to the appropriate challenge level?



As employees - what are you doing for yourself? It is your responsibility to get yourself to the appropriate challenge level. If under challenged, create something new, start an initiative, launch a new venture, etc. If over-challenged, get help.





2. What is your plan for dealing with challenging people?

The Line Exercise

As a leader, how long do you tolerate bad attitudes?


As a leader, how long do you tolerate poor performance?


As a leader, how do you tolerate a good/loyal/hardworking employee when the organization outgrows the employees capacity?



Your organization should have a plan, and the plan should be followed, in order to effectively deal with these challenging people.





3. Are you naming, facing, and resolving problems in the organization?



When issues and problems arise, are you identifying them as such, or are you calling them something else besides problems? Call the issue/problem what it is, do not try to run or hide from it, face the problem and resolve it.





4. When was the last time you re-examined the core of your organizations purpose?

Do you remember why you do the work you do? Do you know what your organization exists for?


List five things that your organization is about (without using terms associated with your industry). Working through this exercise, will help bring you back to the core purpose of your organization.





5. When was the last time your leadership bell was rung?



What was the last book you read, or conference that you attended, or interaction with other leaders that you had that made you see something new, or gain a new view of your leadership? If your leadership is lagging, perhaps it is time to seek out a "bell ringing" opportunity.



Global Leadership Summit 2011

This past week I had the opportunity to take part in the Willow Creek Association's Global Leadership Summit.  Each year the GLS brings together an amazing faculty of spiritual, business, and political leaders to share what they have learned about leadership with others.  This years Summit featured:

• Bill Hybels, Founding/Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
• Len Schlessinger, President, Babson College; Action Trumps Everything
• Hon. Cory A. Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
• Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter Mcneil, Speaker, Thought leader
• Seth Godin, Author, Marketing Blogger, Poke the Box
• Steven Furtick, Lead Pastor, Elevation Church
• Mama Maggie Gobran, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Founder of Stephen's Children Ministry
• Michelle Rhee, Fmr. Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, Founder of studentsfirst.org
• Dr. Henry Cloud, Psychologist, Author, Necessary Endings
• John Dickson, Director at the Centre for Public Christianity, Humilitas
• Patrick Lencioni, The Table Group, Getting Naked
• Erwin McManus, Activist, Filmmaker, Founder of Mosaic, Chasing Daylight

This was an amazing experience, and an awesome opportunity to hear from these leading experts on thought and leadership!

One of my passions is to equip other people to be great; I love to pass on valuable information that more than just me can benefit from, to that end, the next few blog posts will feature some of my Evernote notes from this event. 

If you attended, what are some things that you took away from this event?