Life Principles from Uber

I just completed back-to-back weeks of traveling for work. I like traveling. Despite the occasional inconveniences with airlines, hotels, and ground transportation, I find the diversity of traveling to both new and familiar places refreshing and inspiring.?

I often arrange my lodging accommodations to be at or near the venues where I’ll be conducting meetings or attending conferences. This allows me to walk, which I enjoy very much, and take in scenery I wouldn’t otherwise see as I zip by in a car. On occasion, however, it’s necessary for me to secure automotive transport, which I usually do in the form of ride sharing, like Uber and Lyft.?

This past week, I had to rely on Uber for several trips. I enjoy my conversations with the drivers. I practice my rusty Spanish, learn about other countries and cultures, or get caught up on the opinions of current events. As I hailed my last Uber ride for the week, my driver's 4.97 profile rating caught my attention. Knowing that both drivers and riders carry a rating score, my curiosity was piqued as I wondered about my own profile score.?

I was dismayed to learn that my score was only 4.96. What!? I take great measures to be an exceptional rider; why didn't I have a perfect 5.0 rating??

Uber—obviously anticipating my bewilderment—provided a link to a page that explained their scoring. They listed three areas in which riders are scored: Short Wait Times, Courtesy, and Safety. As I thought about those areas, I considered them to be three key areas by which we should all endeavor to rate our entire lives—not just our Uber lives.

Uber titled it as Short Wait Times, but I think an overarching term might be Integrity. Drivers love not only when you’re prompt, but when you are where you said you’d be. Integrity is a keen governor over many areas of our lives. Letting our “yes” be yes and our “no” be no—even when it’s not convenient or expedient. This helps others know what kind of ground they’re standing on when dealing with you.?

Courtesy could also be labeled as Kindness. What might the world look like if we each endeavored to be more courteous and kind? This isn’t superhero work. Really, it's a matter of just being considerate of others and realizing they have hopes, dreams, and ambitions, as well as faults, foibles, and failures just like you. A little measure of grace and patience goes a long way.?

Finally Safety. A world that’s safe doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen; rather, it means they happen less often and/or are responded to far better. Consider that automobiles today are the safest they’ve ever been, yet car accidents still occur. Minimizing damage and injury from bad things and doing more to avoid the bad things in the first place is how we build safe lives and safe communities.?

Three keys to guide our lives each day: Integrity, Kindness, and Safety. Improvement or even just awareness of how we’re doing in these areas will help each one of us create better environments and experiences for ourselves and those around us.?

A final note about my Uber rating. I make a conscious effort to be prompt, courteous and safe with every Uber ride I take. I treat their vehicle as if it were my own and give unconditional respect to every driver. As much as I strive to be an optimal passenger, some drivers ultimately interpret my behavior as less than 5-star. It’s important to note that we can only control our input, we have no control over outcomes. Therefore, regardless of whether I receive 5-star ratings, I will continuously choose 5-star behavior and feel good about the inputs I can control.

What might our world look like if we each endeavored to live 5-star lives through integrity, kindness, and safety??