Good Morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

What does it mean to be a professional?
Walter Bond, former college and NBA basketball player and motivational speaker, says that it is mastering the fundamentals and pushing yourself each year to be bigger, faster, stronger.

It appears to me that some of the best lessons come from what NOT to do.

We had a recent moving experience where the vendor claimed to be professional, it was even in their name, but they were far from it. They brought tired equipment (that failed enroute) , marginal labor, long on excuses and short on performance. The result was a bent lamp, cracked steamer tank, broken quilt rack, scratched the parked Harley while unloading…the driver of the second truck (because the “Pro’s” sorely misjudged the size of the load) jumps out after arriving 1.5 hours late and asks if he can use the bathroom! Movers didn’t remove shoes at all, taped up parts that didn’t reassemble well…and announced to me that was “going the extra mile”. They strapped the screen door open and now it won’t close on its own so I’d call it officially sprung.

By the end of the job, they were shoving things in the garage with no regard to what was stacked on what. The “leader” sought final signature from my spouse (who was happy to get them on their way) because he knew I wasn’t going to accept that the job was complete.

If you consider yourself a professional, and I hope you do, then please don’t:

•Commit false advertising of your abilities
•Disrespect other’s property
•Duck your clearly agreed upon responsibilities

Instead, I’d start by:
•mastering the fundamentals of whatever it is your profession requires
•treat everyone you meet with the utmost respect
•doing what you said you were going to do…always.

Have a blessed weekend!