In 1982, leadership expert and motivational speaker Mark Sanborn moved into a neighborhood where his view of customer service was transformed. In his first internationally best-selling book, The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary, he tells the story of a postman who revolutionized the way he looked at customer service and the idea of “going above and beyond.”
Sanborn had just moved into a new home in the Washington Park area of Denver when Fred, a seemingly ordinary United States Postal Service carrier with a small, thin mustache, introduced himself one day during his route. However, Fred was no ordinary mailman.
As Sanborn came to discover, Fred was the kind of worker who exemplified everything “right” with customer service. He was “a gold-plated example of what personalized service looks like and a role model for anyone who wants to make a difference in his or her work.”
In The Fred Factor, Sanborn describes how each of us can become a “Fred.”
What makes someone a ’Fred’?
A “Fred” is someone who goes above and beyond the normal call of duty, regardless of recognition or reward. And that’s the key part: regardless of recognition or reward. These employees demonstrate a spirit of service, innovation and commitment. This “Fred Factor” will help you at work and in your personal life.
Here are four principles from the book that can help you become a Fred.
1. Everyone makes a difference
No matter your position, ultimately it’s up to you to do your job in an extraordinary way. There are no unimportant jobs, just people who feel unimportant doing them. More satisfaction exists in being a first-rate truck driver than a tenth-rate executive.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep the streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”
Think about the ways this applies to you and your job, and remember: What you do every day matters and has an effect on others.
2. Success is built on relationships
Indifferent people provide indifferent service. Building strong relationships with your colleagues will help you work better together and provide an even higher level of customer service.
You can improve the service you provide by getting to know your customers better, too. Service becomes personalized when a relationship exists between the provider and the customer. For example, think about your hairdresser or barber: Would the hair-care experience be a good one if the two of you weren’t on friendly terms? Would you be willing to spend hours with this person every other month or so if he or she wasn’t personable? Probably not.
What can you do to build relationships with the people you work with, including the customers you frequently serve?
3. Continually create value
Creating value doesn’t have to cost a thing. Ever feel like you don’t have enough money, training or other resources to perform at a high level? Fred had only a uniform and a bag of mail, and still he managed to provide exceptional customer service. His own creativity and drive helped him succeed, and it didn’t cost him or the company a single penny.
Your imagination and creativity can help you go above and beyond too! If all Fred needed was a bag of mail and a uniform, think of everything you can accomplish with the resources you have at your fingertips.
You can be an employee who gives your company a competitive advantage by creating value for your clients and colleagues. Want to bet that will help you in your professional life?
4. Reinvent yourself regularly
Most of us fall short of what we are capable of accomplishing. If you want to reach your full potential, mediocrity is your silent opponent. Doing just enough to get by means you’ll never know how much you could accomplish.
Think of the effort and originality Fred brought to delivering the mail. If he could bring such value to putting letters in a box, how much more can you bring to your position? Just getting by won’t help you reach your goals; pursuing innovation and creativity can help you gain real value and meaning from your work.
No matter your position or circumstances, you get to start with a clean slate every day. You can orient your professional (and personal) life any direction you choose!
The way to move through life joyfully is by focusing on what you give rather than what you get. You do the right thing not because you have to, but because it’s right. All work is honorable; always do your best, because someone is watching. This is the “Fred Factor”!
After putting these ideas to practice, you may wonder, “What’s next?” If you want to make sure you’re reaching your full potential (even after achieving your goals), register to watch our live webinar on-demand, where Sanborn provides the answer through four powerful tools that business leaders and HR professionals can use. Register for free here.