In Life And In Business Rest Equals Rust

I am traveling back from a customer experience summit in Chicago where I had the pleasure of co-presenting with one of the smartest customer centricity professionals I have ever met, Kareema from MetLife.

One of the consistent themes from all of the companies who presented at the customer experience summit was the fact that the service experience bar is constantly rising.

Companies in different industries such as Sears, Comcast, Teleflora, Victoria’s Secret and MetLife all discussed the importance of not resting on their progress.

These companies and the individuals in them know that rest equals rust and if you aren’t getting better you are not seen as staying the same, you are seen as falling behind.

I am headed back west and I was thinking how simultaneously tired and energized I feel.

My body wants to rest but my brain knows better!

One of the things I have learned over the last two decades that involved over 3 million miles of air travel is practice and experimentation are one of the keys to life and business.

If you are not practicing, I would suggest you are not growing as a person.

The same is true for companies.

As a person I am constantly practicing and experimenting with how to be a better son, a better father, a better husband, a better friend, a better listener, and a better servant.

In business I am also always practicing and experimenting how to be a better listener, a better servant, a better communicator and a better teammate. Obviously, I could go on and on.

The point is I do not want to rest. I do not want to rust. I want to serve and be relevant. I think that takes practice and experimentation.

What do you think?

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