When I arrived at my car early one morning not long ago, I discovered that one of my tires was very flat. I had to be at a short, but important business meeting at 9:00 am and getting there was going to be very tight. I contemplated changing the tire myself, but I knew I wouldn’t make it to my appointment on time, if I did. So, I called a cab, picking a company out of the Yellow Pages.

Fortunately, the cab arrived within minutes and, even more fortunately, Pierre was driving the cab. To keep the story short, Pierre drove me to my appointment, arriving with 5 minutes to spare. He redirected me, when I went to the wrong door, waited for me (no charge) and drove me home again. When we got back to my car, Pierre pumped up the tire for me, using a compressor and hose built into his van and sent me on my way to get the tire fixed.  I was in such a good mood after my encounter with Pierre that it didn’t bother me that the tire couldn’t be fixed and I had to buy four new tires!

All of what Pierre did for me is good service and smart business, but there is more to it than that. Pierre is a helper. Whatever job he might choose to do, he would be a helper. Pierre has been driving a cab for 35 years, and he makes a difference in this world, one customer at a time, because of the way he chooses to do his work. Judging from some of his stories, while we were waiting, Pierre treats his customers and everyone else alike. He is cheerful and helpful beyond “the call of duty”.

Thank you, Pierre. You made my day. I hope we will cross paths again.

There is a lesson for all of us in this. How we choose to do our jobs often matters much more than what we do. Attitude may not be everything, but it certainly is very important, both to our clients, customers and co-workers and to our own job satisfaction.

I love to be around people who bring a positive attitude to their work. How about you? Do you know anyone who makes a great contribution to others because of the way they choose to do their job? If so, please respond to this post with their story. How do you choose to approach your work?