I learned an invaluable lesson from my CEO, on a sunny day, with a box of Lucky Charms. Actually, 2 boxes of Lucky Charms. What can be so special about Lucky Charms, other than the fact that they are “magically delicious?” First I’ll share with you the story, then the lesson.
I had put together an Executive Networking Lunch, with the idea of facilitating a time for Utah Executives to get together and talk through some of the challenges that they are facing at their organization. I knew, through research done by McKinsey and others that America’s employees are only spending 40% of their time on work they were hired to do. With an average annual full burden cost of $92K per knowledge worker, and 60 Million knowledge workers in the workforce, we have a $3.4 Trillion problem in underutilized work from our nation’s employees. Sounds like a pretty significant problem to me. And so, this was the basis of the networking lunch invite. Over 300 mailed invitations were sent out, with additional emails and phone calls following up.
A good number of Executive Assistants responded on behalf of the Executives, and some responded on their own. We were looking forward to having a great lunch. In preparation, my CEO asked me to pull together all of the Executive Bios so he would be prepared to meet each of them. I did some searches online, and put together a document highlighting each of the attendees. I included their background, interests, picture, and highlights at their current company. I felt prepared.
The day of the lunch arrived, and the cancellations began pouring in. I was disappointed with each cancellation, but I still hoped for a great meeting. Within 30 minutes of the actual lunch occurring, every attendee had cancelled, except one. I sent an email to my CEO, and he let me know that he was still planning on joining us. So we moved forward. Obviously, I let the attendee know that she was the only one still confirmed to come, and she confirmed with me that she still wanted to have lunch with us.
I arrived about 15 minutes early to the restaurant. I was quite disappointed. Disappointed that I was taking up precious time from my CEO’s schedule. Disappointed that so many other Executives would miss out on a great lunch, and disappointed that a valuable conversation between Utah Executives would not take place. But then, in walked my CEO with a smile on his face, and his hands behind his back. What was he hiding behind his back? He had two boxes of Lucky Charm cereal. Despite all the demands on his schedule, the back and forth, and the potential disappointment, he paid attention to the details in the bio I put together for him. Yes, I had noticed that this particular Executive had a love for Lucky Charms. I was the one who put it in the bio. But it never occurred to me that I should surprise her with a box of Lucky Charms, let alone two! You should have seen the smile on her face when he presented those two boxes to her. It was unbelievable, and I learned an invaluable lesson.
You see life will throw us curve balls. Things won’t always workout as we had planned. But we can take the time and effort to be personal with people. It has never been easier on the planet of the earth to learn about people. Not in a creepy way, but in a kind and personal way. If you are in sales, marketing, product development, HR, or leadership, utilize the tools available at your fingertips to know your audience and circle of influence. The details make all the difference.
P.S. – In no way shape or form does an online search replace the importance of having a real conversation. I simply know that preparation is king!