David Schwartz illustrates the ‘magic of thinking big‘ with a simple example –
Imagine Bob, the sales person at a gift shop. A customer walks in and says ‘I am looking for something quick for less than 5 dollars. Can you please help me?’
Now, Bob’s gift shop is doing very well for itself and Bob is visibly disinterested at the thought of having to spend time on a customer who will likely only earn the shop $5.
Let us flip it around for a minute now.
What if Bob
– views the customer as a potential $500 customer?
– views this meeting as an opportunity to demonstrate amazing customer service so the customer returns with more business?
Wouldn’t Bob’s attitude to the customer be very different? In a nutshell, that encapsulates the power of thinking big at work, and in our lives. Every little thing we do has great potential!
I find this very helpful when we think of side projects we receive at work. While one way to think about them would be to just get something optimal out to the boss to keep him/her happy or look at them as potential opportunities to build our own ‘brand’.
Here’s to viewing opportunities for their full potential this week!
