Are you "doing" or "being?"
???? Karen Wright, Master Coach
Executive Coach, Coaching Company Founder, Member - 100 Coaches
"I'm a pest nerd."
In the middle of COVID I bought a Victorian home in a small town in Nova Scotia. My plan was to renovate it long-distance as a fun creative project during tough times, with the thought that it might be nice to have as a summer place. Worst case I figured I'd fix it up and sell it at a profit.
After several months of co-ordinating contractors and tradespeople I was finally able to go there in person, so I made the 20-hour drive. As I turned into the driveway for the first time I was greeted by some friendly neighbours who, as it turned out, had been eagerly waiting to meet the individual who'd been crazy enough to buy this home without seeing it in person.
After our initial greetings they pointed to a VERY large hornet's nest hanging directly over the driveway and helpfully suggested that I might want to get that taken care of. A quick search connected me to the local Rentokil representative, and one hour later Rodney Bruhm was at my home.
Rodney got the nest taken care of quickly, and then took the time to explain to me exactly what kind of nest it was (bald faced hornets), how it got there, why it was so large and problematic and how he dealt with it. We then went on to have a lively discussion about the other types of pests that could potentially present themselves (an old house a block away from a river - there had been other undesirable beings in the area!) and how I might mitigate any issues related to those. All in all Rodney was helpful and informative and clearly passionate about his subject matter - which of course prompted me to ask a few more questions about how he chose this particular line of work.
Rodney describes himself as a "pest nerd." When he's not on the job he's researching new treatment protocols. He watches Discovery Channel programs on pest of all sorts. He takes enormous pride in providing solutions to complex pest-related problems. He's always smiling, he hums and whistles while he works and he chats easily with onlookers while he tackles the things other people shy away from. He's thorough and reliable and if anyone in or near Nova Scotia ever needs an exterminator Rodney is the one almost everyone recommends. Rodney doesn't "do" pest control. Rodney IS an exterminator. A pest nerd.
I'm sure you've had your own experiences of working with someone who truly loves what they do - who embodies the service that they're providing or selling. It's a great experience, and it quickly becomes easy to trust the person when you can see that they're speaking from a place of passion and commitment.
I'm also sure you've had the less enjoyable experience of a service provider whose heart clearly isn't in their work. Who's just trying to make a sale. Who doesn't have real depth of knowledge or skill. Who can't solve a complex problem. Who you'll never hear from again once they close the deal or finish the project.
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Pest are probably not your thing. But something is.
Find your thing. Be that service provider who's always learning more and who's committed to delivering the best for their customers. Be the professional whose words ring in your client's ears for years after their last conversation with you. Be curious about how to go deeper in your work and solve the most complex challenges for your clients.
And do what you can to vet the people you're buying from and working with (and yes I'm talking about coaches, but also lawyers and accountants and, yes, exterminators). You'll have a better experience and get better results.
Helping Long-Term Care, healthcare and other people-first industry leaders & teams ?? move through changes ?? excel under pressure ?? stay out of the headlines ?? ?? ?? ??
2 年On one hand we express kindness and promote saving the environment and on the other, we're totally cool with putting poison into it and killing anything that we perceive as a pest or "undesirable beings" (holy F, think about that moniker for a moment, where does that lead). I also appreciate that nobody wants a hornets nest near the house - especially people with allergies. Everything has two handles... I know that was not the point of the post Karen, and it's what came up for me. We had a hornet nest last summer which made feeding the orioles difficult (due to the grape jelly). That said, they kept the yellow jackets away.
Master Brand Developer
2 年Terrific message and example for others—including marketers! Thanks for sharing, Karen. Peace and best wishes, Richard
The Teamwork Doctor. Helping people achieve amazing things together. Advising CEOs. Facilitating strategy and team effectiveness. Sharing broadly as a best-selling author, YouTube host, and keynote speaker.
2 年I love this. Rodney makes me glad to be a nerd and happy to be around other nerds. I agree that it makes such a different to interact with people who are passionate about what they do.
??Executive Coaching ??Empowering Entrepreneurs & Leaders ??Personal Development Courses & Events for Next-Level Success! ?? Retreat Facilitator &Motivational Speaker!
2 年What a great story! Amazing that you took the time to be curious about Rodney universe. What our world would look like if we would take more time to really connect with people around us. My thing is presence. I am curious and passionate about what it means to be present. Presence to myself, to others, to my pets, to my work, my activities, to the world, etc. Never get tired of this ever evolving topic :)
This is a thoughtful piece. Many of us are programmed to “do.” Think of your “to do” list, how you plan you week, how you?organize yourself at work, in meetings etc. Think about the change you can have if you had a “to be” list, as in, “who do I choose to be today/this week/this year.” Thinking and talking this way had a powerful impact for me and clients I coach – the being part powers way more doing.