Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see or experience poor customer service, people doing less than their best at their jobs or tasks, or some other example of complacency. 

I ask you, “how much effort do you put into whatever you are doing at work, your business, or anywhere else?”

Friday I participated in a district convention.  The registration table was not at or near the entrance to the room.  There was no one checking I.D.s.  Delegates just picked up their name tags.  This was important because only delegates were eligible to vote.  That by itself almost caused a big problem.

One speaker could not go two sentences without inserting filler words (uh, ah, etc.) and another speaker who was supposed to be speaking about the qualifications of one slate took his time to denigrate the opponents.  It was very unprofessional.  I’m not talking about normal political attacks, but this speaker actually started making accusations that were totally irrelevant to the proceedings. 

Yesterday, I purchased a couple chain saw blades at a local hardware store.  I needed to cut a root out where we plan to plant a new tree.  I read that roots can be harder, but I would expect that a brand-new blade should be able to cut through four inches of wood.  In this case two blades couldn’t do it.  I believe the blades were defective.  I returned to the store today where the employee said that the manager said, “once you use them we won’t take them back.”  In other words, even if the product was poor quality or defective, I was out of luck once I used it.  How would I know if there was a problem if I didn’t use it first?

A lack of preparation, poor planning, and a lack of common-sense thinking can end up affecting your bottom line.  I probably won’t be returning to that hardware store, one that I’ve been going to for more than a few years and have spent a fair amount of money with.  The convention that could have been completed in a few hours went at least an hour longer than it should have and instead of bringing people together created conflict.

Don’t let something that you have control over defeat you, whether in business, sports, or life.  As a coach I was taught and also taught others that there are two things you can control in life: Your attitude and your effort.  It’s hard enough to beat the challenges that we face.  Don’t help beat yourself.