A few days ago, the chimney sweep visited.
We don’t even have a fireplace, but the tenant downstairs does.
The job of a chimney sweep is to sweep the chimney. Open it up, clean out soot with his chimney brush, close it, and hoover up any soot that spilled.
The chimney sweep doesn’t have to do more than that, to get an A+.
The guy visiting us did way more. He brought all of himself to his job, and showed up with energy, smiles, and a clear aim to deliver a pleasant experience. He asked about our house building project, why we wanted to move out of the city, and explained about his own experiences moving to a small town outside the city. He left us smiling. He left us with more than we had when he arrived.
It was an amazing over-delivery. I aim to show up like that as often as I can for my team. To leave others with more than they had when I arrived – a wonderful aspiration.
A sidenote: It’s not a 0 sum. You can leave others with more without it costing more.