Let me share a story that happened to me not long ago. I recently hired a cleaning lady to look after my office. Shes a lovely, hardworking womanalways arrives early, and manages to leave the place spotless in under an hour. She always finishes well before any of the staff turn up.
One day, she popped into my office to collect her wages. She was dressed smartly and her hair looked fantastic. I almost didnt recognise her. As she walked in, she asked me:
Is it true your employees get a discount at the local car wash?
This caught me off guard. I wasnt quite sure why shed want a discount, but I confirmed it was true and extended the discount to her as well. I told her she was welcome to bring her family along, too, since she was part of our team.
You can imagine my surpriseno, to be honest, I was utterly astonishedwhen she turned up driving an expensive Mercedes, accompanied by her husband and daughter in equally luxurious cars. It never crossed my mind that she could afford something like that! My curiosity got the better of me, so I found out that she actually cleans twenty offices like mine every single day, earning a hefty sum each month! Can you believe it?
Now Im considering taking a few lessons from her about how to run a business. The story really taught me that you shouldnt judge someones success by their job title or first impressionshard work and smart choices can lead to achievements where you least expect them.
