The Veronica Factor
I was recently asked to speak at a conference for business owners and managers to address the increasingly relevant topic of employee engagement – that dedication an employee is willing to give based on his or her emotional commitment to the organization and its values. According to research by the Human Capital Institute, the vast majority of the U.S. workforce is either unengaged or completely disengaged, resulting in an aggregate estimated cost to the US economy of as much as $350 billion dollars per year in lost productivity, accidents, theft and turnover. The stress associated with the uncertainty of the economy combined with the fact that millions of workers currently find themselves in “fall-back” jobs they’re not passionate about is creating a crisis of engagement which not only affects America’s ability to maximize productivity and thereby self-correct the economic slump it finds itself in, but it affects the individual’s ability to succeed on a personal level. The key, then, is for employers and employees to reconnect with one another under the common flag of their organization’s mission – regardless of whether or not it’s the perfect job or position at this given moment.
While, as I stated at the conference, employers and managers bear much of the responsibility to help foster engagement among their team, the ultimate responsibility falls on the individual. The time has come for each and every one of us to choose the path of engagement, purpose, and success. The time has come for us to be excellent at what we do both for the common good, as well as our own.
Each and every one of us is hardwired with a desire for excellence as a result of our self-actualizing and self-transcendent nature, yet we often fall short of our own expectations because we settle for less than what we’re capable of. The fact is that most of us wake up in the morning and go to work without giving much thought to the opportunities we have for excellence. Why is that? It goes against our very nature. I’m willing to bet that you’re not the kind of person who walks around with an intense, burning desire to be average. We all want to be good at what we do. And we all desire to be great at what we do. The question is, how?
As I proclaimed to my audience at the business conference, I have discovered the answer to that all-important question. This answer was revealed to me by a very special person – who just so happens to have a rather unlikely job at a rather unlikely place. Her occupation notwithstanding, she is the consummate professional, the epitome of excellence, and what she has taught me about work and personal performance has changed my life and my company. She is one of the most influential people I have ever met. Her name is Veronica, and she is a waitress at La Carreta Cuban Restaurant on Bird Road and 87th Avenue, in Miami.
Some times I’ll go to La Carreta just because of Veronica – and when I really want to impress a client from out of town, I’ll take them there over a fancy restaurant because I want them to meet my mentor. The moment we walk through the door I know I’ll get a hug and a kiss – and so will my client simply because he’s with me. As she walks us to our table she’ll ask me about my wife and children by name. She asks about my son’s golf game and my daughter’s grades. The service, of course, is excellent. Her ability to connect with us at a personal level combined with her attention to every detail makes us feel like we’re the only people in the entire restaurant – until you notice how she treats every other person sitting in her station. Every single person Veronica serves, without exception, receives the same excellent service – and they will all attest to that. The bottom line is that if you’ve been served by Veronica, you’ve been kissed, you’ve been made to feel special, and you’ve experienced excellence.
From a professional standpoint, I wanted what Veronica had. I wanted to learn how to become excellent at my job, the way she was excellent at hers, because I knew that if I applied myself the way she did, I would achieve not only new levels of success for myself and my company, but maybe even her sense of personal fulfillment as well. When I asked her to share with me her approach to excellence, she put down her tray and said, “I think that to achieve excellence, you must be passionate about what you do.” Then she ducked right back into the kitchen to get more food.
While I understood her words intellectually, I felt there was something missing. There had to be more to this lesson than that. I wondered how Veronica could be so passionate about picking up dirty plates and waiting on tables, while there are so many dispassionate doctors, and lawyers, and teachers, and countless others who have seemingly more meaningful jobs? Then, as I watched her bring out yet another tray loaded with plates of arroz con pollo and vaca frita, it hit me. It doesn’t matter what we do, or how insignificant our job may seem to us, Veronica teaches us that Passion has nothing to do with the meaning we find at work. Passion has everything to do with the meaning we bring to work. That, my friends is what I have coined the VERONICA FACTOR. It’s my favorite topic when I speak at conferences throughout Corporate America, and I’m honored to be able to share it with you today.