I was standing in line for a roller coaster at Silver Dollar City this summer with my two oldest boys. We were getting bored and I was trying to think of something fun we could do to pass the time. I noticed that the kid in front of us had a “Class of 2006” shirt on and the back of his shirt listed all the students in the class. I asked him if he was in the “Class of 2006” and he responded “Yes sir, I am.” We thought it would be fun to try and guess who this kid was. There had to be at least 400 names on the shirt so we thought it would definitely chew up some time. He agreed to let us guess his name so I started skimming over the massive list of names and stopped at the first guy name that caught my eye.
I asked, “Are you Andrew G.?” At this point, I noticed that his mom, dad and sister were waiting in line with him and had overheard the little game we were playing.
To my amazement, he responded “Yes sir, I am.” His mom, dad and sister immediately turned around looking intensely at me like I was some celebrity stalker.
A little startled I said, “No seriously, I didn’t guess your name off a list of 400 names on the first try, there’s no way I just did that. Are you really Andrew G.?”
He repeated in a bewildered tone, “Yes sir, I am sir.”
I turned to his dad and asked him if he was lying to me and his dad surprisingly said “He’s Andrew alright.” His mom and sister were laughing while I asked them all a few more times if they were kidding me. Our game had ended abruptly and I was floored by the whole interaction and actually a little bummed about the fact that the fun of the game was so short-lived. But those feelings faded as I was able to laugh and have a conversation with Andrew’s family. They were great and Andrew was more than just a name on the back of a shirt. He had a story. He was a solid 8th grade student with a great sense of humor and a respect for his “elders” (he called me Sir each time he made a comment).
Pretty funny story, one that I won’t forget too soon. But when it comes to your organization and what your passion is as a group, are you just another name on a list of equals or competitors? Are you hoping, just hoping that someone will pick you out of the crowd for some random reason and give you the sale? Do you feel like you blend in amongst all of those in your industry without much distinction to speak of? Picking a name off the back of a shirt the first time was a stroke of crazy luck.
To the contrary, we can’t afford to allow our organizations to melt into anonymity. Truly great organizations realize that standing out is important and make a clear choice to spend intentional energy around defining their unique story that connects with the values of those they hope to serve. Whether it’s their staff or their customers, they fight to find the emotional connection that resonates with who they are talking to and causes them to stand out. These companies find ways to be noticed ... to be spotted a mile away for who they are and what they stand for. Let’s not rely on the crazy luck of a stranger to help us get the next job, let’s tell a compelling story—there’s people waiting in line that need to hear it.