The (good) managerial culture "caught in the act"

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I have learned many things throughout my career, and one of them is that in everyday life there are many lessons that can be applied in the professional sphere to become an exceptional entrepreneur. We just have to stop and watch to catch those moments in the act, to apply them later to our business management.

Being a sales manager means travel is part of the process, so airports are part of your life now. Although this situation has changed dramatically due to the recent health crisis we have been going through, we have replaced face-to-face meetings with online calls with half a suit and half shorts. But this is another story. We can come back to it on another occasion. Airports are a bizarre and interesting place to see human behavior under stress. They create opportunities rarely seen in any other place.

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Caught in the act #1

The lessons learned, all around us, give us great stories and teachable moments that often apply to corporate leadership and culture building. Many years ago I was stuck in Denver on a long layover. I had a laptop on one shoulder, a padded 2-day carry-on on the other, with a heavy projector case strapped to that same shoulder pad.

In my left hand, I was holding a large Pepsi balanced on a book I was reading. In my right hand, a plastic fork, knife, napkins, and a foot-long hot dog covered in cheese and chili. Did I tell you I was a health freak? Well I am. I only eat things that contain enough preservatives, so no one will ever know when I will finally reach my expiration date.

As I reached the end of the treadmill, the 10-pound projector case began to slip off my shoulder. I lifted my shoulder as high as I could to hold the strap in place. I was only 5 feet (1.52m) to the end, then another few steps to my door. My destination was in sight, and once I reached it, I could write it all down.

The moment I touched the silver metal end, the bag slipped and fell from my shoulder directly onto my forearm with such force that it acted like a catapult. My hand barely moved, but my chili dog shot 8 feet (2.44m) in the air. I actually had to jump sideways before I was impaled. Funny thing - I still want that chili dog to this day. I was so hungry and seeing him crash to the ground was so disheartening; I can really taste it somehow.

So, lesson #1 caught in the act is: you have to have desire. The kind that propels you forward. It is the passion to excel, to compete and to succeed. But, if you try to juggle it all on your own, chances are you'll never reach the end of the catwalk without dropping something important. Get help before you spend all your time cleaning up the mess instead of enjoying the meal.

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Caught in the act #2

Continuing with the chili dog accident, once I managed to gain control of my juggling abilities, which turned out to be sub-par, I ran for the nearest chair. Unboxing must have felt like a Grand Canyon mule reaching the barn. I could hear surprised travelers jumping over the soiled sausage in surprise. I don't know what they thought it was.

Then, as I turned to clean up my mess, he was gone. A bit of residue was still there, but the dog, the bun, and much of the mess was gone. I felt like I was at Disneyland. Have the fairies succeeded? Turning around, I spotted the quick cleaning janitor with a bucket, coming out of some doorway. I apologized when he joined me. Instead of a grunt or a wave, he actually seemed happy to clean everything up.

"Don't worry, these things happen. Sorry, you lost your dog. They're pretty good. Go tell them I said give you a new one, and they'll hook you up," he said. - he explained with a smile as he moved from my eye contact to the ground and back towards me.

He was the Paul Blart of concierges. The man was not a cleaner - he worked in customer service. He was so efficient. Not only that, but he recognized the problem and did something about it immediately. I was lucky to catch it before it disappeared on the next need. Great job, Denver Airport folks!

Caught red-ha...