Influence: That resident in 205 is such a….
Over the course of the last two weeks I have picked up coffee at two different Starbucks locations in Saint Louis, Missouri. On one occasion I sipped my freshly poured coffee and listened to a Barista belittle management over a time clock issue. It quickly struck me that there was a total ill regard for those who were in ear shot of the conversation. It was as if the customers in the room were deaf to her words, somehow shielded by an invisible sound deadening shroud.
No less than three days later I sipped coffee and listened as three Barista’s took turns making fun of various customers that had made their way in over the course of the day. As each story ended and the next began, the Baristas seemed to take on an almost perversive sense of pride in their topping of one another. It ended only when a customer entered the door and made their way to the counter to make an order. It really took me aback and in the same respect, it gave me recall to times when I sat on-site and poked fun at residents. Many times with frustration over events that just transpired.
The worst instance happened while working in San Francisco back in the early 2000’s. It was right around the time that the dot.com bubble burst. The fall out drove two bedroom apartment rents from $4100 a month to $1750 nearly overnight. It was mayhem. My days consisted of back to back one to two hour meetings with existing lease holders who were locked in to twelve month leases paying top market rate. All looking to negotiate a rate reflective of the street. Or, in many cases looking to get out altogether. Somewhere in month three I encountered a resident who not only tested my every nerve with personal jabs and barbs but managed to get me over the edge. I stood my ground, prevailed and puffed my chest as she stormed out of the office in defeat. I turned to make my way back to my office and piped up with “that resident in 205 is a real…,” – the about the time I was going to drop the adjective of all adjectives, I hear [in a voice so familiar it make the hair on the back of my neck stand to attention] – “careful.”
It was the resident. She made her way back into the office to, of all things, apologize for her behavior. I will say, if not by her grace or the one who governs the universe, I would have been toast that day. And, these were the days prior to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin…
Takeaway: Influence has a new name: Always On! Be Mindful of your surroundings as you are always influencing [Starbucks Barista’s – if I didn’t like the coffee so much, I would move to Panera] – if you would not want it repeated as front page news – it’s likely best left unsaid.
