My Grandmother never called the holiday we’re currently
celebrating in the United States, “Memorial Day.” For her, it was always,
“Decoration Day.”
“Nanny,” as we all called her, arrived in the winter of
1911. To put that in a bit of perspective, the young men of 17 or 18 years of
age when they fought in the Civil War hadn’t yet turned 65 years old when she
was born. She remembered as a child talking with veterans who had fought at the
battles we’ve only read of in history books.
Decoration Day started after the Civil War, when people would place flags on the graves of those who had fought and died for the Union or Confederacy. The date of late May was chosen because there were no significant battles fought on that day – meaning the remembrance wouldn’t be focused on any particular encounter or specific group of soldiers.
As History.com reports, “The Civil
War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any
conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first
national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had
begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers,
decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.”
An early memory of mine is going with Nanny to our cemetery
in our hometown of Crothersville, Indiana, to place small flags with wooden
sticks in the ground by the graves of soldiers her family had known that had
fought in conflicts over many years.
Gradually, as more conflicts ensued and wars battled,
Decoration Day for Civil War soldiers lost became known as Memorial Day for all
soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice in all wars.
As we remember those who served and gave all they had, let
us respect the tradition of Decoration Day…now, Memorial Day.
And, let us be
reminded that sometimes it is appropriate for traditions to evolve, grow, and
change.
That’s not to advocate “change for change’s sake” – it’s to
say that as life and times move forward, we must as well.
Nanny used to say, “When you’re green, you’re growing. But,
when you’re ripe it means you’ve started to rot.”
I hope that “green and
growing”/learning and advancing analogy will consistently be applicable for you
and I – as well as the organizations and nations we respectively represent.
I know I’m part of what evidently must be a tiny fraction of
the United States population. I have never watched a single moment of “Game of
Thrones.”
That’s hard for me to admit. I love watching all of the
“hot” televisions shows – and, as a former movie critic, I spent years seeing
movies well before they were released to the general public. However, for some
reason, “GoT” never captured me.
As fans of the show started posting with vigor on social
media, “NO SPOILERS” until HBO airs the final episode this weekend, it made me
wonder: Does spoiling the ending ruin the story for most people?
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot more work helping
professionals in many fields – especially financial services – in crafting more
compelling narratives that help them connect at a deeper level with their
clients. If a friend refers a prospective customer to your business – and tells
them the story of your business before you’ve had the chance to relate it –
should you go ahead and present your story anyway?
In other words, would
it soil the impact of their story if the ending was spoiled before your
telling?
Interestingly, research from Jonathan Leavitt and Nicholas
Christenfeld of the University of California, San Diego says it does exactly
the opposite.
“Writers use their artistry to make stories interesting, to
engage readers, and to surprise them, but we found that giving away these surprises makes readers like stories better,”
they write. (Emphasis mine.)
One of their interesting conclusions is that the authors of
any story – for example, you in relating a narrative about your products
and services – should try to keep the ending a secret. In this way, people who
are unfamiliar with your story…and those who like surprises…don’t have the
conclusions revealed.
However, you should
not spend your time worrying about whether anyone else is spoiling it as they
re-tell your story.
The UCSD researches state that, “spoilers may allow (the
audience) to organize developments, anticipate the implications of events, and
resolve ambiguities that occur in the course” of reading or hearing the story.
Maybe the producers of HBO shouldn’t care so much about
anyone learning how “Game of Thrones” concludes.
And, there’s no doubt that all of us in business should be happy when people
love our story so much, they want to re-tell it to others – even when it may
spoil our thrilling, successful conclusion.
(By the way – are you telling your story to customers? It’s one of the Four Cornerstones of Distinction found in my books, Create Distinction and Iconic.)
As you’ve probably heard, Saturday’s running of the Kentucky Derby ended in controversy. And, it’s a great reminder for all of us – professionally and personally.
Maximum Security – one of the favorites to win the race – crossed the finish line first, leading by 1 ½ lengths. However, an objection was filed. Early in the race — spooked by the massive crowd of over 150,000 people — Maximum Security veered a bit from his racing line and impeded the progress of another horse. In horse racing, that’s called a foul – and it typically means disqualification. However, the Kentucky Derby is the world’s biggest horse race and it had never in its 145-year history had a winner knocked out of the top spot for an infraction.
Many years ago, as I was building my speaking and writing business, I was a free-lance broadcaster for WHAS-TV in Louisville. Typically, I was reporting or reviewing some aspect of the entertainment scene for the top-rated newscast of the region. One of the clichés I quickly learned was, “We’ll fix that in post.”
Post-production – or simply, “post” – is the editing that goes on after all of the footage has been shot and reporting has been recorded. “Fixing it in post” means that you can correct your mistakes through the editing process, rather than worry about what’s gone wrong while you’re in the field.
However, one of the first “live” events I did for WHAS was our full-day coverage of the Kentucky Derby. Now, my reporting from the field was on-the-air live. There would be no chance to fix ANY mistakes in post – rather, errors would be seen by the entire viewing audience.
This year’s Derby made me think about those old times again – and reflect that the jockey of Maximum Security would certainly have coveted the opportunity to fix the horse’s mistake “in post.” A simple and unintended error literally cost Maximum Security’s owners, trainer, and jockey millions of dollars.
Because of that small but critical mistake by Maximum Security, twenty minutes after the end of the race, long-shot Country House – at 65-1 the second-highest odds for any winner – was declared as the horse entitled to claim the Kentucky Derby.
Here’s how this relates to us: many times, we make small errors when it comes to how we deal with customers early in our engagement with them. Consciously or subconsciously, we think we can “fix it in post.” In other words, we don’t worry too much about our mistakes because we believe we can correct everything later in the process. Yet, those small slip-ups can significantly cost us in the end.
My heart was breaking for the jockey and trainer of Maximum Security. It was a tiny mistake by a wonderful horse. However, just like in football, a penalty is called because one occurred – and whether it was intended or not is irrelevant. (“You didn’t mean to jump offsides? Ok, I’ll pick up the flag,” said no referee ever.)
That’s why in business and life – just like in horse racing – it’s tough to rely on “fixing it in post.” And, errors, intentional or not, are usually penalized. That’s why EVERYTHING MATTERS in all of our dealings with customers, no matter when it takes place in the process.
And, it’s why those who create distinction are able stand out to such a remarkable degree in every marketplace. They find ways to get it exactly right for their customers all along the way.
Ask yourself and your team, “If we got it EXACTLY RIGHT for our customers…what would that be?” Deliver that – every customer, every time – and you are on the road to becoming an iconic organization.
