Recently Gavin caught up with Dave Luehr from Elite Body Shop Solutions to have a chat about anything and everything.
Dave had been asked to speak at the Carstar Conference which had over 700 attendees. He loved associating with the leaders and shop owners. One thing that really impressed Dave, was on the night of the Gala Dinner the group raised over $100,000 for a Cystic Fibrosis Charity. They were such a giving community.
Giving is a great way to put yourself in a receiving mode.
Generosity is something that is not talked about enough. Dave said that some of the most successful people he has ever met are the most generous.
One of the stories he shared during his speech at CARSTAR was about one of the most magnetic people he had met.
It was in 2004, when Dave was still playing country music, something a lot of people might not know about him, he was invited by some friends to go down to the Bridgestone to watch the rehearsals for the Country Music Television Awards. It was a big national TV production which his friend just happened to be the producer. His friend yelled out saying there was someone he wanted him to meet.
Dave turned around and he said it was like the heavens parted and God shone down his spotlight on this woman, five-foot tall, big blonde hair, full makeup, and a sequined curvy dress. It was Dolly Parton. She came right up to him and shook his hand and said “Hi Honey, Art says you are a singer like me? “
He said all he can remember was being locked in that moment of presence with her and she is this huge superstar, and she was shining the spotlight on him. Dave was the only person that mattered in that moment to Dolly.
He will never forget that, and this is what makes people magnetic, makes them attractive. It is their generosity.
Imagine how powerful and magnetic your business could be if you spent just one completely present moment with each of your employees?
All too often we allow things to get in the way, especially electronic devices, but we need time where we can put them away, let them go. Present moment experiences are so engaging.
Something Gavin learnt in a workshop from a previous coach/mentor called Jim Bergquist from the Pike Place First Market in Seattle was how they rebuilt their culture. It was the relationship between the fishmonger and the customer and that was all that mattered. It was just the two of them in a conversation and whatever was going on around that Fish Market did not come into play. The rest of the team stood up and allowed that fishmonger to have a 15 min conversation. It was pure presence and pure engagement on so many different levels.
It is not just customer engagement but relationships with employees. People want to feel like they matter and if we can make them matter, that can change the world.
It’s understanding what drives individuals because everyone is driven in different ways. Once you get inside the individual and understand them from a personality perspective, you can engage with them so much easier. You have taken the time to understand how to communicate with them and what is important to them.
Your engagement becomes authentic because you have taken the time to know your people.