Another soap story – I was meeting with a group of employees spread out across an organizations 100+ locations. I was hired to find ways to improve the performance of the organization and it was widely known that the leaders in the field felt dis-empowered and taken for granted.

During our discussion, someone mentioned the soap in the bathrooms. They couldn’t understand why it was watered down so much to the point that it was nothing more than pink water. Immediately the energy in the room soared and everyone was ranting about the poor quality of the soap.

Seeing this as a real opportunity, I immediately went to the organization’s leaders and shared that they could significantly improve their relationship with their field leaders by not watering down the soap. I encouraged him to make a call to maintenance immediately to have the practice changed.

This would have cost little and would have greatly improved the possibility of the more significant challenges of the organization being faced with less resistance.

Sadly, here, and in other organizations, the simple suggestion was not implemented. Companies routinely ignore the importance of the little things that are symbolic of the amount of care and respect they have for their staff and customers.

Cecilia Edwards
Equipping Businesses for Phenomenal Success
http://www.CeciliaEdwards.com