My wife decided to
spoil our family and take us out to an early breakfast before we started
work. We don’t do this much during the
week, but since it is summer, it was nice to get out and start our day a bit
differently. We all
ordered our drinks and our kids started
playing a game with a fork and knife. I
looked at the two glasses of milk sitting next to them and thought the worst,
but stopped myself since they are 11 and 7.
However, I forgot that this is the family of Goggle Man. Yep, five minutes into the game, Goggle Girl
knocked over her entire glass of milk all over Goggle Woman (my wife- you will
meet her later), herself, and the table next to us. If you have ever experienced this situation,
it seems that the entire restaurant stops and stares at you since liquid has
left the glass in a not traditional way.
I looked over at my wife covered in milk and could only shake my head at the
crazy situation we had in front of us.
Goggle Man wanted to
get mad at Goggle Girl for spilling her milk all over the restaurant. However, I quickly remembered when I was
younger doing the same thing to my Dad.
It is amazing how events can trigger past memories.
My Dad and I were
taking a trip to San Francisco. He had a
very large meeting with one of his Federal customers in the city. I tagged along to enjoy San Francisco while
he was selling his solutions to his customers.
Since I support hiring sales
professionals at Microsoft, I now really understand the sales process and the
importance of a client meeting. I wish
that I would have known then what I know now.
If I did, I would have tried to avoid adding a major challenge to my
Dad's meeting.
Growing up in
California, In & Out Burger was a big thing. They started in Southern California and
worked their way up the coast. It was
always a treat to enjoy a burger, fries and soda on a hot summer day. As we were eating, I grabbed my extra-large
soda. So I thought. My soda proceeded
to dump all over the table and my Dad.
As I looked up, my Dad's white dress shirt was no longer entirely
white.
The worst part about
this situation, he did not have another shirt or time to get another one. All my Dad could do was continue on to his
meeting.
As a top salesman,
my Dad did not let this challenge get the best of him. He went into his meeting and addressed his
non-white shirt out of the gate. He
apologized for the large stain on his
shirt. He told them the story of how he
was having lunch with his son and how I spilled my drink on him. His client asked, how old is your son
(thinking he had a toddler). My Dad in
his witty way, said, no.... he is 20.
Everyone laughed and my Dad proceeded to close the deal.
Challenges. The are
always there. The trick is how do we
deal with them and use them to our advantage.
My Dad used it as a way to show he was human and to get a laugh and to
bring his clients into his world. How have you had challenges that you have used to for good? Sometimes we think they are bad, but sometimes they might be exactly what we need to be noticed. Like a guy walking around with a brown and white dress shirt.
The more I think
about my past, I realize I come from a long line of Goggle People who just take
on situations as they come and bring humor to connect with people. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a time that you have overcome a challenge.
Keep Exploring!
Until next time…
-Goggle Man Out!
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