Caring Yields Caring
In a recent post I asked the question, “If you don’t care, who will?” It was an ode to overflowing gas station trash cans and my own laziness and / or disdain for the environment.
But there’s a flip side to caring: when we care, it tends to spark others to care, as well.
Right down the road from the gas station I mentioned, there’s another gas station that cares about the details to the point of obsession. Their parking lot is typically cleaner, because their care makes me care.
Part of Walt Disney’s drive to build Disneyland was to have a theme park that was fastidiously clean. There’s a famous conversation where his wife Lilian asked, “But Walt, why would you want to build a theme park? They’re so dirty.” To which he replied, “That’s just the point. Mine won’t be.” He really believed that his care and cleanliness would yield care and cleanliness.
I once saw Dan Cathy, then the CEO of Chick-fil-A, walk into a local store, stoop to pick up a napkin off the floor, clear a guest’s tray off the table, and offer to refresh another guest’s beverage – all before he spoke to a single team member or the store’s owner/operator. You’d better believe his care for the details was noticed and emulated.
When we care, it tends to spark others to care, as well.
Where are the areas of care you need to reinvigorate in your own life, to serve as an example to others?
