A Culture of Ownership...
You know how much I value the corporate receptionist. S/he is the person who can start the relationship off on the right or wrong foot.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of chatting with Matt and his team at SocialSolutions in Baltimore (they do some cool stuff, so check it out plus some good career ops there for the right people).
I walked in and found this sign.
No problem. They are a 70 person company and I get that the receptionist has to go to the bathroom or take lunch.
But, what happened as I was reading this sign is what was remarkable.
I was about to head back to the "first desk on the left side of the blue wall," when I was approached by Sabrina.
"Hi," she said. "I'm not the receptionist, but I used to be. Can I help you?"
Nice. I love that.
How many times have you been in a lobby where the receptionist wasn't there and people walk by without asking "can I help you?"
It's happened to me a few times, so this made a strong impression on me.
"I'm here to see Matt."
Sabrina went to find him and came back with Mike, who said:
"Matt's just finishing up a meeting, he'll be with you shortly. Can I get you something to drink while you are waiting?"
Hey, that's good stuff. I accepted the offer and thought back to my previous experience at the Motley Fool. Twice in 2 days. I was on a roll.
I snapped this picture thinking how it added to the story I would invariably tell on the blog.
At that moment, a woman came up to me and in a polite tone inquired as to why I was taking a picture of her front desk.
It was clear, to me that Diana, (I think that was her name, sorry if I forgot) was interested in protecting the company's reputation.
By the time Matt, the CEO, came out, I knew a few things about his company...all of them good.
Along with his partners, he had created a culture where people recognized that "we're all in this together." They had a sense of ownership and they recognize that details matter.
This, more than anything else they are doing (and what they are doing in the marketing realm is fantastic--the subject of an upcoming post) is what will determine their long-term success.
The little things make a BIG difference in creating positive WOM (Word-of-Mouth) for your company.
